This Time
by CodeLyokoIsTheBest
Summary: Number 2 in the 'Time' series. The children have returned to the past, but not everything is as it seems. They have to battle KND enemies and survive middle school! "Congratulations Numbuh 361. You just became the laughing stock of all seventh grade."
1. Twelve Going On Thirteen

_**Disclaimer: I do not own Codename: Kids Next Door and never will (unfortunately).**_

_**Here it is guys! The second instalment of the Time series is here! Sorry, I got high on air, drunk on apple juice and hypo on cheese, so I'm a little weird today! I hope you enjoy this! Oh, sorry for not getting this to you sooner, but I was grounded, I was working on another story and I had the dreaded HOMEWORK!**_

**_If you haven't read the first story 'In Time' you should REALLY read that first!_**

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Chapter 1: Twelve Going On Thirteen

"Hurry up or you'll be late!"

"Coming!"

Harry Uno ran down the stairs of his two story house and dashed into the kitchen. He grabbed the buttered piece of toast on the table, dodging the highchair his brother was sitting in. After saying a quick goodbye to his mother, he rushed out the door. He stopped briefly to take a quick glance at the humungous tree house sitting on the top of his house. The sector's 2x4 Technology Officer had temporarily shut down the tree house to make some 'improvements.'

Harry looked at the watch on his wrist and began sprinting down the street. "Crap! I'm going to be late!"

Being an athletic boy, he arrived at Gallagher Middle School in no more than five minutes. He leaned against the gates to catch his breath. After a minute he strolled into the school gates, having only a couple of minutes to spare until the bell rang for the start of school. He scanned the crowd, searching for any of his five friends. His eyes brightened when he saw one of them and hurried towards her.

"Hey! Numbuh 58!" he called out.

He saw the girl raise her head and smile. She put the book she was reading away in her backpack and stood up. "Hey, Numbuh 361."

_Beep! Beep! Beep!_

The line of continuous bells rang through the school, signalling for the students to hurry to their house class. Students ran in four different directions, all eager to be the first person there so they wouldn't have to wait in line for ages just to be marked as "present at school." The two kids laughed at the other students.

Celeste stopped laughing and sighed. "We've only been here three weeks and I'm already sick of this routine."

Harry nodded. "So am I." The two said goodbye and parted ways. Harry ran towards the classroom that his house group was, ending up in the middle of the long line. It wasn't a bad position, but it was annoying getting pushed by all the other grades to go faster. Eventually he ended up at the front of the line. He realised that he had a different roll call teacher than every other day. She was an old lady with a sweet face.

"Name?"

"Harry Uno."

"Ah! I remember your parents. Nigel Uno and Rachel McKenzie right? Lovely little dears they were. I even went to their wedding!"

'_Ugh, not again!'_ Harry thought. Although he was smiling and nodding on the outside, he was quite ticked off. Over the past few weeks, all of his teachers had mentioned his parents in some way or another. He had noticed all his friends had received the same attention and they weren't very happy either. He was starting to doubt that his family going to that school previously was a good or a bad thing.

"Hey, Numbuh 361!" a voice called out over the crowd. Harry noticed a short blonde standing in the doorway with a huge smile on his face.

"Hi Numbuh 40!" Harry gestured for Truman to come over to him. The short boy did as he was told and was soon by his leader's side.

"Did you finish your science homework?" Truman asked. Harry nodded.

"Yeah, but what the heck is Bunsen burner?" he asked.

Truman shook his head. "Were you even _listening_ in science class?" He knew it was a stupid question and he already knew the answer, but he still had to ask.

Harry gave him a sheepish smile. "I was really tired that day…"

They spent the rest of the way chatting about the building work their 2x4 Technology Officer was currently doing. They tried to imagine all the gadgets that may be put into their new and improved home. Harry suggested a milkshake machine while Truman thought of a water slide. They happily let their imagination run wild, there being so much new equipment to build basically anything. The Kids Next Door had gained enough power to give more than enough tools for the operatives to work with.

The duo stepped into their science room and sat down in two spare seats at the back. A few minutes later their science teacher came into the room and class started. It was a basic class, just a few explanations, nothing too spectacular. Class ended and Harry said goodbye to Truman. He took out his timetable to see what he had next.

"Drama, huh?" Harry didn't mind drama, it was a good class. The bad thing was that he had to run all the way from one side of the school to the other, something he never particularly liked doing. He power walked to through the corridors as running in the halls was forbidden. He made it to his drama class with a minute to spare.

He entered the room and breathed a sigh of relief. "I made it!" he cheered loudly. Maybe a little too loudly as his whole class was staring at him with weird looks on their faces. All of them were, except one.

"Congratulations Numbuh 361. You just became the laughing stock of all seventh grade."

"Shut up Numbuh 52, that's an order."

Melissa only laughed. "Oh come on, it's not the end of the world."

Harry shook his head. "Let's change the subject. What exactly are you doing to the tree house?"

"Ah…" Melissa began, smirking. "That's a secret."

"What does that mean?"

_Whack!_

"Don't you know what a secret is? It means Numbuh 52 ain't gonna tell you, fool!" Melissa scolded.

Harry rubbed the back of his head. "Alright, alright, no need for violence. That hurt you know."

"Numbuh 52 knows." Melissa's frown turned back into a smirk.

Drama started with excerpts from _Romeo and Juliet_, something he was expecting. His teacher had mentioned just how much of a fan she was of the play. Personally it made him sick to his stomach, especially when his teacher announced how a boy and girl would have to pair up and act out one of the love scenes. Unfortunately, the teacher decided to choose for them and he got a girl named Anne-Marie.

Melissa snickered and muttered something that was barely audible to Harry's ears. All he heard was "He wishes" and "Numbuh 58." He blushed slightly and moved the thought to the back of his mind.

The teacher handed out the script for the scene they would be doing. Harry felt like he was going to throw up when he read the title on the page:

_THE KISSING SCENE_

"Huh? The kissing scene, eh? You don't mind, do you?" Anne-Marie inquired, peeking at the script from beside him.

"Uh… N-n-no…" Harry stuttered, still in shock.

Suddenly, the bell rang. Harry's stomach turned a one eighty. He had been saved by the bell. The wonderful, most glorious bell. He said goodbye to Anne-Marie and left for recess with Melissa.

The rest of the day was a blur. Not much had happened and it was a pretty boring day, according to Harry. He was walking out the school gates a little after the last bell rang, happy to be out of what he called "That Hellhole." He had almost reached the front of the school when someone ran into him. He fell to the ground, though he luckily wasn't hurt. He stood up and searched for the person that had knocked into him. He smiled at who it was.

"Watch where you're going next time, Numbuh 80."

"What? Oh, sorry. Didn't realise it was you."

Harry noted the football tucked under his friend's arm. "Football tryouts?"

Thomas nodded. "Heck yeah! I love the game and…" He trailed off and looked around to see if anybody was listening. "You get all the love from the cheerleaders."

"Hey, guys!"

Harry and Thomas turned their heads to see a familiar girl running towards them. Harry was surprised to see the girl in a cheerleader uniform. He observed the expression on the other boy's face and realised he wasn't as shocked as himself. Coming to terms on what was happening, he smirked.

"All the love from the cheerleaders, huh?"

Thomas gave him a glare which was a signal to be quiet. Harry did as he was told, but was still laughing hysterically on the inside. It died down as the girl approached them.

"Hey, Numbuh 43," Thomas greeted casually. Harry waved.

"You're trying out for the football team, Numbuh 80?" Kellie assumed, seeing the football.

Thomas nodded and started to throw the ball up in the air and catch it. "Sure am."

"Well, there are heaps of strong, older boys there who you're going against. They're so dreamy…" Kellie entered a daydream, obviously thinking of the boys she saw at the tryouts.

"That's just gross, Kellie. You're only twelve and you're already thinking about dating," stated Thomas.

Kellie snapped out of her trance. "Hey! I'm thirteen soon!"

"But I'll be thirteen sooner."

Harry watched his two friends argue. He slowly backed away towards the front gate, not wanting to get involved. He called stopped only once to call out to his friends.

"Uh, guys? I'm going now!" he yelled. There was no response and Kellie and Thomas were still fighting.

Harry smirked, knowing what would get their attention. He took the deepest breath he could and cupped his hands around his mouth for volume.

"Hey guys! Just because you love each other doesn't mean you have to fight like a married couple!"

* * *

A figure hid in the bushes, watching everything the trio did. She saw Harry call out and Kellie and Thomas stop arguing to beet the him up. She leered and took a phone out of her pocket. She dialled a number and waited for someone to pick up.

"_Hello?_"

"Step one is complete."

"_Very good_."

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There you go! Hope you liked it! Now if you'll excuse me, I need to go jump out a window, swing on a branch and hit my dad's car! BYE! –Waves frantically, then gets a baseball bat and smacks her cousin down-


	2. Triangle Flashbacks

_**Disclaimer: I don't own Codename: Kids Next Door and I never will. –Tear-**_

_**I'M SO SORRY! I DIDN'T UPDATE! –Cries-**_

_**Anyway, I hope you enjoy this chapter, even if it's crap. –Sniff-**_

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Chapter 2: Triangle Flashbacks_

"This is the new popcorn machine and that's the milkshake maker. Well, those are all the improvements!"

Everyone stared at Melissa in awe. It was rare for them to think this, but they actually had thought the wait was worthwhile. They definitely hadn't been sleeping at their own houses and putting up with their parents for nothing. They all seated themselves on the new couch that Moonbase had provided Melissa with.

As they were settling down to watch the newly bought big screen television, a loud sound erupted from the table. Harry dived at his phone, which was the source of the sound. He pressed a few buttons and let out a sigh of relief.

"What are you doing?" Truman asked. The others nodded to support his question.

"I was supposed to get a text message from dad, but luckily it wasn't him. It was only Anne-Marie, thank goodness," Harry replied.

Celeste scowled and sat up straight, now more alert. "Who's Anne-Marie?"

"She's my partner in drama for the Romeo and Juliet thing I told you about," Harry explained. "She was supposed to text me about when I could come over to her house to practice."

"You, of all people, doing homework?" Thomas laughed. "What is the world coming to?"

"FYI, Numbuh 80, the only reason I'm doing this homework is because me and Anne-Marie have the kissing scene." Harry stood up and placed his hands on his hips, giving Thomas a smug smile. "Plus, Anne-Marie is pretty cute. Now, if you don't mind, I have some practicing to do."

After the sound of Harry's running footsteps had died away, everyone turned to look at Celeste. The sector's spy had a frustrated expression, but behind that was a sad feeling anyone could see if they looked hard enough. She stared into space for a few seconds before coming back to Earth. She noticed all her friends watching her and stood up hastily.

"I-I'm going to my room." She ran in the direction of her private headquarters.

"Uh, Numbuh 52, how long do they have to rehearse this thing?" Kellie questioned, still staring in the direction Celeste ran off to.

Melissa sighed. "At least two months. Our drama teacher is generous and she wants us to have a lot of time to prepare. This goes to our reports…"

"Well that's just great, now we'll have to deal with a fussy little princess!" Thomas complained.

Kellie whacked him. "Don't speak about Numbuh 58 that way!"

"I was talking about Numbuh 361."

"Oh…"

"_Rainbow Monkeys, Rainbow Monkeys, we love you!"_

The situation was forgotten as Kellie squealed in delight as her favourite show came on. Thomas groaned and started complaining about the girly show. Melissa and Truman both rolled their eyes and stood up to sit on the couch to the side. They didn't want to be in the middle of the fighting.

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The next day started off normally with the six operatives chatting together before school and at break times. Well, at least this was what it was like from first glance. Underneath was a small level of tension on Celeste's part. Harry didn't notice her awkward behaviour near him since he didn't see what happened after he left the previous day. The others did and were talking about what they saw as they sat at a table at lunch before Harry and Celeste came to join them.

"I saw it before school started," Melissa began as she recounted what she had seen.

"_Yeah, and then she- Oh, hi, Numbuh 361." Melissa greeted. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Celeste hesitate before following suit._

"_Hey, Numbuh 361."_

"_Hey, you two!" Harry didn't notice the change at all and carried on with his antics._

"Oh, this is what happened in math class." Everyone turned to Thomas.

"_Okay class, hurry up and sit down."_

_Thomas walked in the door to find Celeste and Harry already there. Harry was sitting down at a desk with a spare seat next to him. Celeste normally sat next to him in math if Thomas didn't beat her to class. Instead, she sat next to Josie who was a brunette in their class. Thomas was surprised as he took his seat next to Harry._

"That sucks," Kellie remarked. "I figured it out in history."

"_You are going to pair up for this assignment. Please choose your partners now."_

_Everyone moved around the room looking for their history victim. Celeste was looking around before being tapped on the shoulder. She turned around to see Harry beaming at her._

"_Do you want to be my partner?" Harry asked._

"_Um… I was going to partner up with Numbuh 43. Maybe next time…" Celeste turned and power walked to Kellie's desk._

_Kellie's brow furrowed as she observed her two friends. When Celeste asked to pair up with her, she didn't say no, but she was still worried._

"Well, this is what happened at second recess," Truman started.

_Truman was playing handball in the quadrangle with Harry. Second recess didn't go for very long, lasting only five minutes. They didn't want to find their next class earlier than needed, so they decided to pass the time. After a minute of playing, they saw Celeste walking past._

"_Hey, Numbuh 58, want to play?" Harry questioned._

"_Uh, no thanks, I have to be early for science today," Celeste answered._

_Truman made slight eye contact with her before she dashed to one of the openings that had stairs that lead students to the second floor. Her expression had seemed as if she was apologizing to Truman. He contemplated this before figuring out what had happened._

"I don't see the big deal," Thomas commented. "It's just a play."

Truman smirked. "Remember last year when you-"

"Okay! We don't need to go through that again!" Thomas interrupted, his face as red as a tomato.

"There's one thing that gets to me though…" Melissa took a bite of her sandwich. "Normally something as small as this wouldn't affect Numbuh 58. Something else must have happened to make her avoid Numbuh 361."

Kellie's eyes darted away from Melissa to the other side of the cafeteria. "You might want to be quiet now, Numbuh 58 is coming."

"When she comes over here, change the subject," Melissa ordered.

"Hey, guys," Celeste addressed.

"Hey, have you seen Numbuh 361?" Thomas inquired. Melissa gave him a glare, to which he shrugged in response.

Celeste took no notice as she scanned the cafeteria. Her face fell as she spotted him. "He's over there with… Who is that?"

The others all leaned so they could see their leader. Only Melissa knew who the girl was and sighed. She wasn't very willing to tell Celeste who she was because it may have caused more strife. However, she knew she had to.

"That's Anne-Marie," Melissa finally replied. She cringed as Celeste's face fell even more.

"Oh, okay." Celeste sat down without saying another word for the rest of lunch.

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Okay, since I live in Australia and all, I don't know how different my school is compared to other countries. I'm just going with what I know.**_

_**I NEED TO UPDATE SOONER! –Is angry with self-**_


	3. The Kellie Beatles Detective Agency

_**Disclaimer: I do not own KND and I never will.**_

_**I'M SORRY, I'M SORRY, I'M SORRY, I'M SORRY, I'M SORRY! I need to update more! This is only short too! :(**_

_**Anyway, enjoy!**_

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Chapter 3: The Kellie Beatles Detective Agency_

The day continued with the same routine of Celeste avoiding Harry, who never noticed a thing. Kellie has suggested that she and Celeste work on their history project. Although the assignment was the main goal, Kellie also saw this as an opportunity to find out what was happening. She had said this to Melissa, Thomas and Truman, who had agreed. She thought she could figure out if something else was happening to Celeste, something the girl was hiding.

"So what do you want to do the project on?" Kellie asked as she walked down the street with Celeste.

Celeste didn't answer and kept staring straight ahead. Probably lost in thought, Kellie assumed. She asked the question again and received no answer. She tapped the spy on the arm, obtaining her attention this time.

"Sorry, did you say something?" Celeste blinked a couple of times to make sure she still wasn't daydreaming.

"I asked you what we were going to do our project on," Kellie repeated.

"Oh… You can pick if you want," Celeste offered. They had to do a comparison between what a country was like one hundred years ago compared recent times.

Kellie's eyes lit up. "I'd rather do Australia. I learnt a lot about Japan from my grandparents when I was little, on my mum's side. I never hear anything from my dad about Australia. Whose place will we go to?"

"Mine's closer, so how about we go there?" Celeste proposed.

Kellie nodded. "I'll just call my parents."

They kept strolling as Kellie rung up her parents. They instantly agreed as long as she didn't stay too late. A few minutes later, the duo arrived at Celeste's house. It was quite large and beautiful. There was a concrete driveway which had a silver car parked to one side. The garden had red roses around the edge with a tall tree to the right side. There were a couple of stairs leading up to the front door. The house itself was made of bricks and was two storeys high, not including the attic on top.

"Wow, I just realised it's been ages since I've been here," remembered Kellie as she sniffed some roses. "It always looks amazing."

Celeste smiled at the compliment. "Thanks, dad's working on my sisters', my brother's and my rooms at the moment."

'_Yes, I got her to smile!_' Kellie thought, grinning. Celeste hadn't smiled all day, or all yesterday evening, for that matter. Kellie couldn't stand it when her friend's weren't smiling, so she did all she could to make sure they did.

As they stepped inside, there was a loud crashing sound. They all turned to the staircase on the right where a little boy of about nine was standing next to a broken vase. He was attempting to clean it up when he saw Celeste and Kellie in the doorway. His eyes widened and he dropped the pieces of glass he was holding before falling to his knees in front of Celeste.

"Please don't tell mum, sis!" He pleaded.

Celeste smirked. "Okay, Allen… But you have to do my chores for a whole month."

"Sure, I'll do anything you want! Bye sis, see you later!" Allen ran upstairs, dodging the broken glass.

"Why are we still standing here?" Kellie inquired.

Celeste smirked. "Wait for it..."

Kellie followed Celeste's gaze and started looking at the stairs. In a few seconds, there was the sound of feet running down the stairs. Allen stopped at the bottom step and gave a sheepish grin to his sister. He kneeled down and picked up a piece of glass.

"You wanted me to clean it, didn't you?"

"Of course." Celeste tugged on Kellie's sleeve and dragged her upstairs. Celeste's room was the second on the left. The front was decorated with red, black and white spirals, hiding the brown wood underneath. Celeste opened the door and stepped inside the red, black and white themed room. Kellie didn't bother looking around as she had already seen it countless times.

"Just put your bag on the bed. I'll go get some cookies from downstairs." Celeste grinned at Kellie before running into the hallway.

Kellie didn't hesitate and decided to search the room. She thought she might find a clue that indicated what had happened. Firstly, she searched the desk and drawers but all she found was study notes, pens, books and old birthday cards. She was about to dig into Celeste's bag when she spotted something under some papers on the desk. She took it out and realised what it was: a diary. The front was black with the word JOURNAL in red. She opened it, but didn't read it, respecting her friend's privacy. She was onto the sixth page when something fell out. She reached down and picked it up, realising it was a note. She quietly read the contents.

_Celeste,_

_Stay away from Harry, or he'll be taken away from you._

Kellie was absolutely furious at whoever wrote the note. '_Why would someone want Celeste to stay away from Harry? Celeste never did anything to anyone, as far as I know._'

"I have the cookies! I snatched some soda too."

Kellie hastily stuffed the paper into her pocket. "Cool, let's get started."

* * *

"Who? What? When? Where? Why?" Thomas yelled.

Kellie cringed and wiped some spit off of her face. She had just told Thomas about the anonymous note. She would have told him earlier, but Celeste was with her at every break time. Thomas had football practice at the same time she had cheerleading practice, so she took the opportunity to tell him when they finished. They went to the park so nobody would hear them.

"I don't know," Kellie replied. "The note didn't say who it was from. At least we know why Numbuh 58's avoiding him now. The note was on the same date as when Numbuh 361 told us about drama."

"So we have a 'when' and 'what,' now we just need 'where,' 'who,' and 'why,'" Thomas summarised.

Kellie twirled a little bit of her hair. "I'd say the note was slipped in through the slot in her locker. There's our 'where.'"

"Right... When are we going to tell Numbuh 52 and Numbuh 40?" Thomas questioned, suddenly thinking of their fellow teammates.

"Hey, I have a great idea!" Kellie stood up with her wrist raised in the air, completely ignoring Thomas and his question. The swing she was sitting on swung backwards before she caught the chain and propped her leg on the seat.

"...And that is?" Thomas was slightly scared. Kellie's ideas weren't exactly... Boy friendly.

"We're going to become detectives!" Kellie's eyes were now shining in excitement.

"No, please no, no, no, no, no, no!" Thomas begged to whoever would listen to him.

"To the new clothes store downtown!" Kellie grabbed the horrified Thomas and ran down the street.

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I loved writing the last part! REVIEW!**_


	4. Deductions

_**Disclaimer: I do not own KND, otherwise Lizzie would be at the bottom of the ocean right now.**_

_**I UPDATED SOONER! YAY! :D**_

_**This chapter is pretty much pointless except for the first few lines and the end. I just wanted to feature Truman in there more. Enjoy!**_

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Chapter 4: Deductions_

"Have you planted it?"

"Yes, I have. Everything should run without a hitch."

"Good girl."

"Thank you, Father."

* * *

Thomas stomped his way to school, slightly annoyed. It had been a day since Kellie had told him about Celeste's note and told him that they would become detectives. She had said that they would spy on both Celeste and Harry the whole day when they could so they could figure out who wrote the note and why. She had rung Melissa and Truman as well so they had more eyes. Eight eyes were always better than just four.

"Numbuh 80!" someone squealed from behind him.

Recognising the voice, Thomas spun around and prepared for the hug that was about to hit him. "Hey, Numbuh 43..."

Kellie let go of the boy and frowned. "You seem so unenthusiastic. What's wrong?"

"Are you sure this spying crud is a good idea?" Thomas knew Kellie would say it was, but he had to ask.

"Yes! Don't you want to know what's happening? The note said that Numbuh 361 would be taken away from Numbuh 58, right? We need to find out who would want Numbuh 58 to stay away from Harry and why they wanted her to," Kellie answered. She had echoed exactly what Thomas had thought she would say.

"Fine, but do you really need the coat?" Thomas looked Kellie up and down.

Kellie inspected herself intently. She was wearing a green trench coat that went just below her knees. Underneath she was wearing her normal green top and yellow skirt but with stockings instead of socks. She shook her head when she had finished.

"What's wrong with it?"

"Never mind."

Kellie skipped in front of him and entered the school grounds, her black hair flying back in the wind. She stopped a metre away from the gate and called out to him. He grumbled and dragged his bag along the pavement. It was embarrassing for him to be seen with a girl pretending to be a detective, but he didn't like seeing her upset. Besides, he wanted to know about Celeste and Harry as well.

They were met by Melissa and Truman who didn't say anything about Kellie's new attire. They all agreed that Kellie and Thomas were in charge of Celeste at breaks while Melissa and Truman would take care of Harry. They couldn't do anything about class time, so they decided to go on as normal. The school bell rang and they started their normal routine with hidden goals in mind.

* * *

Truman had English with Celeste first so he sat next to her. Nothing happened, but he noticed that she seemed more aware of her surroundings. He realised that he would be too if he was told to stay away from someone by an unknown person. He didn't know whether to question her or not, but made up his mind when the teacher ducked out of the room to pick up some papers from the front office.

"Numbuh 58, why are you avoiding Numbuh 361?" He didn't beat around the bush, choosing to skip straight to the point.

Celeste gave Truman a weird stare. "I'm not, why would you think that?"

Truman left it at that, he had all the information he needed for the moment. He continued to complete his work in silence, not bothering Celeste for the rest of the lesson. As soon as the bell rang, he met up with Kellie, who he had Geography with next. They began walking through the halls to their classroom as they shared their information.

"Any news?" she asked.

"I didn't really get anything out of her. I asked her why she was avoiding Numbuh 361 and she denied having done anything," Truman replied.

"Well, now we know that she won't come clean about it. Wait, what does that prove?" Kellie stopped dead in her tracks in front of the geography room.

Truman shrugged. "I don't know, it just seemed relevant at the time. Doesn't matter, Numbuh 80 has math with her and Numbuh 361."

Kellie clutched her books tighter around her chest as she started pacing, much to the other students' displeasure. "He's not going to do anything, he hates my idea. He always hates my ideas."

"No, he doesn't always hate them," Truman reassured.

"Yes he does, he always complains and complains and complains and complains..."

Truman persistently listened to the rambling the girl with amusement. He chuckled and had one single thought. '_Is she really that dense?_'

* * *

By the time lunch rolled around, nothing had really happened and the plan was escalating downwards. Truman and Melissa were sitting on a little hill on the oval and eating their lunch. They were watching Harry play football with his friends. Thomas would normally be with him, but he was spying on Celeste with Kellie.

"This is so boring!" Truman whined. Bits of his sandwich flung out of his mouth and onto the ground.

"Numbuh 52 hears that," Melissa agreed. "By the way, why don't you ever play sport?"

Truman sighed. "Look at me, I'm really scrawny. I'd get pummelled out there." It was true that he definitely wasn't the most athletic person in the world. He was a very slim boy with skinny limbs.

"Aw, don't worry about it. We all have our strengths and weaknesses. Look at Numbuh 43, she's as dense as a rock sometimes but she's a really loyal friend. One's a strength and one's a weakness."

"Right, I see." Truman was about to say something else when he spotted something happening on the other side of the field. "Hey, what's going on over there?"

Melissa followed Truman's pointed finger to see Harry talking to a familiar girl. She was giggling to everything he said and was standing quite close to him. The two observers exchanged worried glances as the answer suddenly dawned on them. They quickly threw away their rubbish and ran to the quadrangle. Kellie and Thomas were sitting on the stairs watching Celeste read at a table.

Thomas saw Truman and Melissa first. "What's wrong?"

"We know... Who sent... the note," Truman panted.

"Really? Who?" Kellie was extremely excited at the new development.

"Anne-Marie."

There was a dead silence among them after Melissa's blunt answer. The sound of children laughing had been tuned out by the awkward atmosphere. Kellie's jaw was hanging so low that a giant spider could make a web there without any problems. Finally, a cheer shriek ended the tension.

"Yeah! One point for the Kellie Beatles Detective Agency!" Kellie cheered.

Thomas rested his head in his right palm. "She named us..."

"Why did she do it though?" Kellie wondered.

"Probably because she likes Numbuh 361 or something like that," Melissa deducted. "She definitely looked like she was flirting with him. I have drama after lunch, so I can see more closely there."

* * *

'_Why? Why are they doing this?_'

Celeste slammed her book closed, not caring if she crinkled the page. She had seen Melissa and Truman run across the quadrangle to Thomas and Kellie. They weren't too far away, so she could still hear some of their conversation. She had listened in and realised what they were doing. She knew they were only worried about her, but the more she listened, the worse she felt. However, something Truman had said was repeating in the back of her head.

"_We know... Who sent... the note."_

"_We know... Who sent... the note."_

Her eyes widened and she searched her bag clumsily. She took out her journal and hurriedly flipped the pages. When she turned the page to the entry from three nights ago, she felt a pang in her stomach. Her note was gone, but how?

"_Just put your bag on the bed. I'll go get some cookies from downstairs."_

She grasped the fact that Kellie had most probably searched her room when she was downstairs. She had told the others about it and they had figured out that Anne-Marie was responsible. Although it was an invasion of her privacy, it wasn't the thing she was the most peeved about.

'_Anne-Marie... I've known Numbuh 361 for years and then she comes along and wrecks everything.'_

Noticing the tears welling up in her eyes, she ran in the direction of the bathroom. She ran inside the last stall and sat on the toilet seat. She lifted her feet onto the seat and cried into her knees until the bell rang.

_**

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Dun, dun, DUN! Celeste isn't the sector's spy for nothing! Review and tune in next time! :D**_


	5. Bait

_**Disclaimer: I do not own Codename: Kids Next Door**_

_**So sorry for the lack of updates, I had a little case of writer's block. During class today, I finally had a stroke of luck and as soon as I got home, I wrote the best I could. Enjoy!**_

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Chapter 5: Bait_

Melissa walked home that afternoon with a defeated look on her face. Even though Kellie's plan had worked, the end result had been terrible. No one had seen Celeste since lunch since none of them had last period with her. They had seen her run away, but hadn't gone after her, believing that she should have some time to herself.

What infuriated her more than anything else was the fact that Harry didn't realise what was happening. It was evident that he enjoyed being pampered by Anne-Marie, unaware that she was blackmailing his friend. Watching the two in drama had become nauseating and she couldn't work anywhere near them anymore. Her partner had instantly agreed, having the same view as her on the pair.

She thought of what Celeste must have been thinking. Harry was not only her leader, teammate and a best friend, but the first person to talk to her. A small girl clutching her mother's dress at a get-together and a boy willing to play in the sandbox with her. The two were fast friends, to put it mildly. Celeste must have been very distressed to hear she needed to stay away from him.

"Hey, Numbuh 52," came a voice behind her. Kellie was there with the same tired expression on her face, smiling sadly.

Melissa sighed a greeting, not bothered to say anything. She was about to ask Kellie whether she'd seen Celeste, but stopped herself after turning the corner. Her eyes grew wide and she turned to Kellie, who was oblivious and looking sideways. She nudged her in the ribs and pointed ahead.

"Oh..." Kellie was speechless, and Melissa couldn't blame her.

Right in front of them was Celeste, giggling to her heart's content with a boy from her music class. They were walking home together, by the looks of it. The boy grabbed her hand and she smiled, her giggling ceased. He said something the other two couldn't hear and she burst out laughing again.

Melissa held her head in her hands. "Oh fu-"

"Numbuh 52!" Kellie whispered loudly. "What's going on?"

"I have no idea. I mean, Celeste? Sweet, little Celeste? I never thought she'd get a boyfriend so soon!" Melissa was both surprised and elated. Celeste was mostly a bookworm who wasn't interested in boys (except Harry, of course), but the new Celeste in front of them was acting differently to the way they were used to.

Beside her, Kellie was almost bursting with excitement. She obviously felt that this was a turn for the better. It was in a way, seeing as she wasn't concentrating on Anne-Marie's note that much. The only real reason it might have been bad was why she was doing it: to forget about Harry.

"Come on! Let's go to the tree-house and wait for her to get back!" Melissa let out a yelp as she was whisked away.

They dashed to the tree-house so they would arrive there before Celeste. Thomas and Truman were already seated on the couch playing video games. Neither of them looked up as the two girls burst into the living room. Kellie tapped them on the shoulders, but they didn't budge. She then called their codenames, but that didn't work either. She stomped her feet on the wooden floor like she was having a tantrum and, once again, received no response.

"I'll unplug your video game!" she threatened. The boys took no notice so she stormed up to the television and pulled out the plug leading to the game console.

"We were playing that!" Thomas whined. "I was winning!"

"Who cares?" Thomas glared at Kellie, who was enthused once again. "Numbuh 58 has a boyfriend!"

Thomas dropped his controller, his mouth becoming very ajar. "What? We just comprehended that Numbuh 361 has a girlfriend and now we have to deal with Numbuh 58 having one too?"

Kellie rolled her eyes. "Oh, be happy for her. It means she isn't caring about Anne-Marie's note anymore." She sighed dramatically and a dreamy expression took over her face. "I wish I had a boyfriend..."

Sensing that Thomas was about to do something irrational, he quickly said, "How do you know she's gotten over it?"

Kellie's carefree expression faded and her eyes flickered to the floor before she answered. "I don't know, I guess I was just hoping she would have."

"Oh, I see. So, what's his name?" Truman inquired, not pressing the subject on any further.

Melissa answered before Kellie could. "We don't know, but I know I've seen him around. I think he's in my science class. Yeah, his name's Mitchell." She suddenly remembered seeing the black haired boy sitting up the back of her science class, staring out the window like all the other bored students did.

"Hey, guys! What's going on?" Harry had entered the tree-house and was now staring at them. They had all discontinued their conversation when he came in and they were suddenly feeling uncomfortable. "Uh, is anything wrong?"

"No, nothing!" Melissa hastily replied. She was fiddling with her fingers while silently debating whether she should tell Harry about Celeste. "Numbuh 58 has a boyfriend."

Harry stayed silent for a few seconds with everyone watching him. Finally, he burst like a balloon to a needle. "What? You know what that's going to do, right? She's going to start thinking about him more than the team and before you know it, we're all going to be heavily injured from a mission that she didn't bother to come to and she says she was busy while she was actually with her boyfriend and-"

"_Excuse me?_"

A red faced, teeth clenching Celeste stood behind Harry. The others had been concentrating so much on Harry that they hadn't seen her come in. "Why would I abandon the team?"

Harry's demeanour hadn't changed in the slightest. "You heard me; you're going to pay too much attention to that boyfriend of yours."

"Oh really? I expect Anne-Marie will make Numbuh 52's second in command position pretty active, huh?" Celeste snapped.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Harry shouted. "How do you know about Anne-Marie?"

"How can I not? Celeste started. "Everyone knows who she is! You keep parading her around and flirting with her in front of everyone. We know she's there, so you can stop it already! Next thing you know, you'll be eating each others' face off in the middle of the quad and it'll be so gross that they'll start ringing the evacuation bell!"

"The middle of the quad? Just because you and your boyfriend do that sort of thing-"

"Do you even know who my boyfriend is?" A silence followed immediately after as Harry realised he didn't actually know who he was complaining about. Celeste didn't wait for him to answer, instead looking him in the eye fiercely. "Exactly. Mitchell wouldn't parade me around, or vice versa. If you'll excuse me, I'm going to do my math homework."

Every person in the room watched her press the button to the newly installed elevator and hop inside. The doors closed and she disappeared, leaving everyone to look at Harry, who looked like he was going to be sick, faint or both. Avoiding the elevator, he ran up the spiral staircase next to it. When he disappeared, there was nowhere else to look, so they sat there in the tension-filled room.

"Wait, we had math homework?"

* * *

Unknown to everybody, a figure leant against the trunk of a nearby tree just outside the tree-house, smiling. It had been such a great day, filled with achievement. Hearing the last of the argument somewhere upwards, she flicked her communicator open and a voice spoke through it.

"_They took the bait?"_

"Fell right into it."

"_Excellent."_

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Teehee, I'll try and update, I really will. I promise, really. PLEASE BELIEVE MEH! Anyway, review! :)**_


	6. Work Things Out

_**Disclaimer: I do not own Codename: Kids Next Door and I never will.**_

_**I updated sooner! Yay! Enjoy it!**_

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_Chapter 6: Work Things Out_

The next day was horrible for the members of Sector V. Celeste and Harry still weren't talking to each other, making the others feel uneasy. When the two had gone their separate ways after breakfast, they started to discuss it and figure out what to do.

"I still reckon we should hurt one of them," Thomas enforced for the hundredth time.

"No, I already told you that won't work. It's too obvious," Melissa replied, also for the hundredth time.

A sound came from the side of the table and everyone stared at Kellie. She had her right hand propping up her head and was staring at the ceiling. Her legs were swinging back and forth, often hitting Thomas, who would grimace in pain. He didn't say anything because he knew she wouldn't listen. She was too engrossed in La-la Land to notice anything.

"I wish I had a boyfriend..." she sighed dreamily. All of them were expecting that too. The rest of their Friday afternoon and evening had been spent watching romantic comedies to satisfy her. Apparently, the talk of boyfriends and girlfriends had been lodged in her brain.

"_Mission, mission, incoming mission! Mission, mission, incoming mission!"_

Truman groaned and Thomas thumped his fist on the table. Melissa rolled her eyes at them and ran to the giant computer screen in what they called "The Mission Room." The room was only to be entered for training and mission preparations. Or, at least, those were Harry's rules.

"So, what's the mission this time?" Harry asked, barging into the room. He grabbed the mission specs that had just been faxed and looked at them. "Okay, we have to go to some fast food restaurant in town. Potty's going on about constipation again."

"I swear, he's worse than his father," Truman stated. Potty was the Toiletnator's son who had taken over his unsuccessful crimes.

"Sure is," agreed a voice coming from the monitor. They looked up and saw Numbuh 749, the mission giver and reporter, gazing down at them as Celeste joined them. She sent a reproachful look in at Harry, who ignored it.

"Our sources indicate that the new restaurant in town, Italia, has been taken over by Potty. He thinks that the food will give them a bad case of constipation. Here's our footage now."

Numbuh 749 disappeared from the screen and in his place stood an Italian restaurant where people were running all over. The screen flickered inside and they were shown people ducking behind tables and chairs. All Potty had accomplished was throwing spaghetti bolognaise at customers. Among the victims was a familiar girl with golden hair.

Celeste was the only one openly laughing at Anne-Marie, not bothering to contain herself. The others, except Harry, were being more considerate and stifling their laughter. Harry was angry, first at Potty, then at Celeste, who had tears in her eyes from laughing so hard.

"Stop laughing!" Harry shouted. Celeste only laughed louder at the sight of Anne-Marie trying to untangle spaghetti from her hair. The others couldn't help it either and laughed along with her.

"Come on, let's get in the S.C.A.M.P.E.R.," Harry sighed, not bothering to calm his team down.

Everyone climbed into the S.C.A.M.P.E.R. and Melissa pushed Thomas towards the wheel. He gave her a questioning look that was answered with her walking away. He shrugged and started the engine. Kellie and Celeste were sitting on one side at the back while Melissa, Truman and Harry sat on the other.

When the vehicle started moving, Melissa stood up and placed her hands on her hips. She gestured for Kellie and Truman to stand up and they positioned themselves either side of her. Harry watched them with unusual attentiveness while Celeste paid no mind.

"You two need to talk things out. Do it now," Melissa ordered.

"You can't order me around!" Harry disputed, standing from his seat. "I'm the leader!"

"Guys, you need to stay at your monitors. I can't control the whole system myself, you know," Thomas called from the front.

The others reluctantly returned to their seats. No one spoke for the rest of the journey, much to Melissa, Kellie and Truman's displeasure. Their plan was going nowhere and it didn't look like that was going to change anytime soon.

Thomas landed a little further away from the restaurant so they could turn up undetected. He jumped out first and Harry made sure he was the second out. Celeste let the other three go ahead of her, giving one of her glares to Harry as they went. Once they were all assembled, they took out their weapons and crept around and behind buildings, checking that the coast was clear at every corner. It used up more time than it should have, but Harry seemed like he wanted to drag on the mission for as long as he could.

Upon arriving at the restaurant, they found it completely deserted. It definitely indicated signs of a struggle: there was sauce splattered on the walls, discarded pizza and noodles on the floor. Shards of broken plates and bowls were scattered on the ground and cutlery sticking into every place possible. Potty had been very desperate, they concluded.

"Where'd he go?" Truman asked, breaking the silence.

"Who knows, who cares. He's probably back in his leaky den, wondering what went wrong." Thomas stuck his nose in the air at the thought of the enemy's hideout.

"Well, wherever it is, we should go back. He isn't a threat to anyone anyway," Celeste muttered darkly so it was only audible to her team. Not that she needed to, no one could hear her if she spoke normally anyway.

Harry's head whipped around to face Celeste. "Shut up, Numbuh 58. We were sent after him, so we need to catch him."

Celeste rolled her eyes. "Oh, please. The only reason you want to suddenly run after him is because I said we should go back." Her accusing expression hardened. "Besides, you want to go and get revenge for you little girlfriend!"

"Anyway," Harry growled, "We should go after him. It's our duty as Kids Next Door operatives."

Not caring to be cautious on the way, they headed back to the S.C.A.M.P.E.R. in silence. Even though there was a villain on the loose, none of them quickened in pace. The fastest person was Harry, who was merely power-walking in front. Kellie, Truman, Melissa and Thomas were walking normally behind, the four of them too distressed by their friends to speak. Celeste was dawdling and fuming at the same time. By the time Harry reached the S.C.A.M.P.E.R., the rest were still walking.

"Hurry up," Harry urged, though his words lacked motivation. "We haven't got all day."

"Yes we do," Celeste argued as she leant beside the S.C.A.M.P.E.R., "It's only ten o'clock in the morning."

Ignoring her, Harry pushed Thomas up the steps. "Go and start the motor."

After they all took their seats again, they checked everything was working. Thomas slotted the key in the ignition and twisted it. A loud gurgling noise that resembled a choking animal was the only response. The noise sounded again after the second attempt, and the third, and the fourth.

"What's wrong with this thing?" Thomas yelled, slamming the key down on a large, blue button. The S.C.A.M.P.E.R. changed angles so they were all standing on a slope. Thomas almost fell down, but clutched the steering wheel for support.

"What's happening, Numbuh 80?" Harry inquired, authority in his voice.

"Did you not hear the farting sound? The cruddy thing won't start up!" Thomas folded his arms, angry at the vehicle.

Harry pulled at his sleeve, irritated. "Do you think someone did something? It was working before, why wouldn't it work now?"

"Because I cut all the wires I could find."

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Teehee, cliff-hanger! Review!**_


	7. Explanation

_**Disclaimer: I do not own Codename: Kids Next Door and I never will.**_

_**I updated again! Not that anyone actually reads this anymore. –Tear- Enjoy!**_

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Chapter 7: Explanation_

Harry looked like he was going to choke, Melissa's eyes were alarmingly wide and Kellie's hand was clasped so hard around her mouth that she was surprised there were no red marks around it. Thomas had his lips pressed together tightly, Truman was shifting his feet nervously and Celeste didn't seem to really care. They were all staring at the person in front of them with their S.C.A.M.P.E.R. wires clutched in their hand.

Finally, Harry managed to say something. "A-Anne-Marie?"

Anne-Marie's smile widened as she twirled the wires. "Yeah, yeah, I did everything and now you're gonna get me, blah, blah, blah." Her expression became more evil when she caught sight of Celeste. "But of course, your little spy figured everything else out before now, didn't she?"

"Of course I did. I'm not the spy for nothing." Celeste was now standing on the second highest step to the S.C.A.M.P.E.R., her eyes narrowed. "Last night everything fell into place, and even more when we got the mission today. You planted that note in my locker because you wanted to trick Numbuh 361 into giving you details about the Kids Next Door. You thought that I, being the spy, would figure you out easily if I still hung around him, so you chased me off. That's when the others started trying to find out what was wrong with me, which meant they were preoccupied. That left you to flirt with Harry and get your information. He told you about the equipment we use, and that's how you were able to know which wires to cut. Anne-Marie, what's your last name?"

"Uh..." Anne-Marie hesitated before answering. "Santles."

"What does that have to do with anything?" Kellie asked softly.

Celeste's firm expression didn't waver. "Sanban and Beatles. Santles. It's not that hard, is it? I'm guessing you wanted some of your identity still intact. But, I never really figured out who you were."

"I'm from a different universe. The one _you_ made when you went back to the past. I'm the first daughter of Wallabee and Kuki Beatles." Anne-Marie puffed out her chest in pride.

"No you're not, I am!" Kellie's voice was shrilly and almost hysterical.

"In this universe," stated Celeste, still staring down Anne-Marie. "In the other universe we made, she's their daughter."

"And I _dated_ her? That would be like... Like dating Kellie!" Harry was nearly as hyped up as Kellie. Thomas gave him a glare that would have reduced him to ashes if looks could kill.

"How did we make another universe?" Melissa asked, scratching her head. "We can't possibly do that."

Anne-Marie grinned at the crowd gathered before her. "Yes, you can. The rule is that time goes forwards, never backwards. You guys broke that rule and went back in time by accident. You met your parents and interfered with the past, which is dangerous. When you came back, you could have ended up in one of the two timelines existing. There was this one, where you originally came from, and the one you made when you went back to the past. You were lucky enough to end up back here. I'm from the other timeline, as you may have already guessed." She sounded as if she had practiced her speech for some time.

"Let me guess, you work for Father?" Truman guessed. When she nodded, he moved forward, suddenly looking angry.

"Oh, I'm sorry, am I hurting the little traitor's feelings?" Anne-Marie teased.

Truman shut his eyes tight, not wanting to remember the pain and suffering he'd endured while working for Father. He had constantly been reminded of how he was nothing compared to the grown Delightful Children from Down the Lane, all the while wondering whether he was fit to be Father's servant. As he became older, he realised Father's true intentions to others his age and wanted to break free of the strong chains trapping him. He didn't think he could until that fateful day in the past.

"Leave me alone!" Truman demanded, opening his eyes and closing his hands. "Don't you see what you're doing is wrong? Father only wants to use you because you're so gullible! Why are you letting him brainwash you? You stupid idiot!"

The others had never heard Truman yell at somebody else before. He had normally only spoken when it was right for him to. They had all aged together since the age of four, so they were all used to each other. He hadn't been with them that long, but he was still the most comfortable when he was around them. If this had been a normal enemy, he would have kept quiet. His lingering memories of Father haunted him so much that he would never even simply pass the Kids Next Door archives for fear of seeing certain documents. He wouldn't have been able to take it if he saw the hundreds of files on "Son." It surprised them so much that he would mention it now.

"You're calling me an idiot?" Anne-Marie screeched in disbelief. "You're the one who betrayed Father, the most powerful being in the universe!"

"Who cares if I betrayed him?" Truman's voice rose with every word. "He betrayed Numbuh 0 at the very beginning. That means he also betrayed Numbuh 1, then Numbuh 361, and then the rest of us."

Harry shot him a grateful smile, but then frowned in worry. "It doesn't matter, Numbuh 40. I just want to know why she came over here in the first place."

Anne-Marie's eyes sparkled mischievously. "Father believes that the timeline you created is the right one. I'm here to destroy this one. Don't worry; we made sure we made a special spot for you guys."

Her hand dived into her gold handbag and rummaged through the objects inside. Everyone's eyes were intense as they watched the bag. Eventually the hand was withdrawn, clutching a silver box. Anything that was alive was now focused on the box, not daring to stray. If they did, something might happen to them.

"This," began Anne-Marie, "is the box that you will be trapped in for the rest of your days. You won't age, become ill, or suffer anything. Bon voyage."

Anne-Marie pressed something on the side facing her. A whirl of gray smoke invaded the S.C.A.M.P.E.R., making the team cough and splutter. There was a pain in their chests and they screamed in pain. It lasted for a minute until their lungs gave way. They collapsed onto the ground, falling into a deep sleep they weren't sure they were going to wake up from.

However, they did, but they weren't in the S.C.A.M.P.E.R. anymore. They weren't anywhere they recognised. They were floating in what seemed to be a sea of silver and purple clouds. There was no ground, so they weren't in the sky. There were no walls, so they weren't in a building of some sort. Not even a door could be sought, so there was no way of leaving.

"Where are we?" Harry's voice didn't echo, instead sounding softer than usual.

Everyone else shrugged at him, still gaping at the different shades of purple. Kellie reached out to touch one of the clouds, but was grabbed by Thomas. She gave him a look that told him she wanted to enjoy the place while she could. He stared her down, not wanting her to hurt herself. She wriggled out of his grip and touched the nearest cloud, just to annoy him.

"Numbuh 43," he started, but never finished. The shades of purple rippled, as did the silver. They were replaced with dark blues that gave the impression of a storm. The cloud started morphing into different objects. A table, a saucepan, a pair of earrings, a computer and a rose all took shape before the "cloud" rested on what looked like a box with flashy buttons. On the side there was an inscription that read:

_KND TIME TRAVELER 300  
2029_

"What's the time machine doing here?" Melissa wondered.

The copy of the time machine changed again, turning into a large plate with a round hole in the middle. The hole was very wide and tall and all of them could see through it without having to strain themselves. Colours started swirling and an image appeared.

_**

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Yeah, it sounds weird to me too. And another cliff-hanger! Teehee! Review!**_


	8. Alternate Timeline

_**Disclaimer: I do not own Codename: Kids Next Door and I never will.**_

_**Yeah! Update! Enjoy!**_

_

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Chapter 8: Alternate Timeline_

_A school hallway full of teenagers appeared on the cloud. Many unfamiliar faces passed by carrying books, bags and phones. One was holding a bright yellow chicken suit in his right hand, his face showing irritation. A group of girls behind him were chatting and giggling whilst pointing to a group of handsome boys on the other side of the hall. Every student was heading towards the exit. School was over for one day, and they all wanted to go home and rest._

_The last person to disappear from their view was a fourteen year old girl with silky black hair. She was wearing a green shirt with black flowers sewn near the bottom. Her skirt was black with green around the edges and her black shoes were worn over black stockings. Her hair was completed with a green headband. She kept her books clutched to her chest as she hummed._

"Wait, isn't that..." Harry didn't finish when the others gave him a shut-up-before-we-kill-you look.

_The girl never vanished from their view, instead keeping the focus on her skipping out the school doors. There were still students outside, including a dark skinned girl with a red cap sitting on her head. The first girl spotted the other girl and ran to her, her long hair lifting behind her._

"_Abby! Wait for me!" she called._

_The second girl, Abby, smiled her way. "I can't go without you, can I? I'm your partner for the assignment, Kuki."_

_Kuki beamed as the two girls started walking. At the school gates, a brunette boy waited anxiously. When he saw the two girls, he grew even more nervous. His finger tapped Kuki's back and she rotated ninety degrees. Upon seeing the boy, she smiled._

"_Hi, Devon," she greeted._

"Devon?" Thomas repeated. "Isn't that a type of ham?"

"Shut up, Numbuh 80."

"_Uh... Hi, Kuki. I was wondering what you were doing on Friday night." Devon's eyes shifted sideways as if he was scared that somebody was listening._

_Kuki shook her head. "No, I'm not doing anything, why?"_

"_I was wondering, do you want to go out with me?" Devon questioned, his voice breaking on the last word._

"_Uh..." It was Kuki's turn to do the eye shift. "Sorry, Devon."_

_Devon seemed surprised, embarrassed and disappointed all in one. "Oh, it's okay then."_

The hole disappeared, leaving the team to wonder what just happened. What they had just witnessed was not what they were expecting. They were amused by the boy's predicament, but they still couldn't help but be confused as to why it was that certain point in time. They knew it was set in the past and Kellie and Melissa's mothers were there, but that was all.

"What was that supposed to be?" Truman asked, scratching his head thoughtfully.

Celeste shrugged. "Dunno."

She unconsciously poked her elbow into the cloud behind her. The cloud started morphing into random objects like the last one. Once again, it ended with time machine turning into a hole. They all peered down at the scenario, not knowing what to expect this time.

_Before them stood the decommissioning chambers. Twelve year old Numbuh 86 A.K.A. Fanny Fulbright was shouting at the rest of the decommissioning team, who were cowering in fright. Apparently, one of the operatives had done something wrong. As expected, it was a boy that had committed the crime. After the yelling ceased, Fanny called in the unlucky birthday boy or girl._

"_Numbuh 5 of Sector V and Moonbase Command! Report for decommissioning!"_

_Abby dawdled into the chamber, her hat pulled down over her face and her left hand holding her right arm. She looked miserable, and her face made the impression she was going to vomit as she stared at the four seats sitting back to back. She was directed into the nearest chair by Fanny, who didn't give her normal "Yeh stupid thirteen year old" speech. In fact, her expression was the same as Abby's._

"_Wait!" A younger operative, possibly a new recruit, burst into the room. She leant against the doorframe, panting and bending down with her hands on her knees. When she regained her composure, she trotted over to Fanny and whispered something into her ear._

_Fanny's eyes widened and her mood seemed to pick up a little. She was grinning from ear-to-ear by the time the operative ran out the door. She quickly changed it back to her normal scowl and shooed off the rest of her team. She ran to Abby and eagerly pulled her out of her chair, much to the latter's amazement. She had never seen the decommissioning leader as happy as she was now._

"_Congratulations, Numbuh 5. You have been accepted into the Teens Next Door. You are in Sector V, your leader is Numbuh 1 and the Soopreme Leader is Numbuh 362."_

_Abby held out her hand to stop Fanny from talking. "Ain't Numbuh 1 and Numbuh 362 in the Galactic KND?"_

_Fanny shook her head. "They were told to come down when they turned thirteen. Even Galactic Kids Next Door operatives have to be decommissioned when they turn thirteen. You must keep this a secret from your fellow operatives and everyone else. You are not to address the your teammates by their codenames unless you are on a mission for security reasons. Do you understand?"_

"_Of course," replied Abby, nodding her head. "But, why me?"_

"_Probably because you were one of the ten main people to aid in that war with the future kids," Fanny answered immediately. "Now of you go."_

The Future Sector V caught a glimpse of Abby running out of the chambers before the hole closed. The new flashback gave them more information, but that just meant even more confusion. They all looked around at each other, looking for a single sign that one of them knew what was happening. Of course, none came.

"Wait," started Melissa. "When Numbuh 86 said something about that war, did she say something about future kids?" The others nodded. "Does that mean us?"

"I guess so. And that also means the TND is real," remembered Truman.

Harry's eyes widened. "So does this mean that this is the timeline we created?"

"Yes, I'd say so. I mean, they kept on mentioning stuff that wouldn't have happened if we hadn't gone to the past," pointed out Celeste.

"Quick, let's watch another one." Harry's fingertips made contact with the cloud behind him. The procedure started again and they all watched as the familiar hole appeared.

_Dust and smoke surrounded an area no one could see. Rubble was falling everywhere and screaming was heard from every direction. Gunshots echoed from overheard, followed by a buzzing sound. Through the destruction, three figures emerged, all of them teenagers. They ran behind something large, but they couldn't see what it was due to all the smoke._

"_What do we do now?" asked one of the teenagers. He had goggles over his eyes, protecting him from the debris._

"_Don't know, Numbuh 2," the boy next to him muttered hopelessly, his Australian accent evident._

_The last teenager, an Asian girl, squealed in fright as a piece of the roof came crashing down next to her. "We have to wait until this eases down a bit!"_

"_We don't have time! The others are up there fighting there asses out! We can't just sit here and do nothing!" the second boy yelled._

"_Wally..." The girl whimpered one word, but it was enough to make Wally's eyes soften._

"_Kooks, I'm sorry, but we need to get up there!" He paused, then added, "We're not in the Teens Next Door for nothing!"_

_Hoagie moved from his crouching position so he was next to Wally. "Numbuh 4's right, we need to get to the others."_

_He poked his head out and scanned the place, ready to act at any sign of activity. When he decided it was all clear, he bolted to a metal ladder on the other side of the room. He reached it safely and made an "O" with his fingers, signalling to the other two that he was okay. The duo weren't paying any attention to him, instead sending suspicious glances to the very unstable looking ladder. Many of its metal rings were halfway off, or just off completely._

_Hoagie shrugged, choosing to take a chance. He carefully climbed the ladder, almost slipping because his hands were sweating so much. He arrived at the top and grinned at the other two. He was about to call out to them when another, closer gunshot was fired. It hit Hoagie straight in the back of the head and he tumbled to the ground._

"Dad!" Melissa cried, tears beginning to pour from her eyes.

"_Hoagie! Hoagie! Hoags! Can you hear me?"_

_No matter how loud Wally shouted over the noise, his words wouldn't reach the fallen operative. Kuki was sobbing near his body, Wally's arm around her. The two must have spent five minutes near the body before wondering what to do._

The scene dissolved, leaving the future team depressed. Melissa was uncontrollably crying and hugging Celeste, who also had a tear-stained face. Thomas didn't care that his shirt was wet from Kellie's tears. In fact, he, along with Harry and Truman, was silently crying himself. For what seemed like ages, all of them just floated there, mourning the death in the alternate timeline.

_**

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Aw, so sad. This is probably going to be one of my favourite chapters. Review!**_


	9. Riddle

_**Disclaimer: I do not own Codename: Kids Next Door and I never will.**_

_**Another update! Enjoy!**_

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Chapter 9: Riddle_

The tears stopped and everyone could only stare at where the cloud had once been. They didn't move, not wanting to poke another cloud in case another sad flashback appeared. All they wanted to do was leave, but they didn't know how. Anne-Marie had trapped them in there for what they expected was all eternity. Interfering in her plans was the second thing on their list right now; they needed to get over the death was the first.

"We need to find a way out of here," stated Harry.

Melissa rubbed her eyes with the back of her hand. "Yeah, but how?"

"I have no idea." Harry skimmed his eyes across the newly formed circle and was met with the same confused expressions he was sure he had on his face. "Well, there was an entrance, there must be an exit."

"Yeah, but it's with Anne-Marie, isn't it?" Everyone fixed their eyes on Celeste. "Think about it for a second. She has the box, she has the entrance, and she has the exit. Simple enough, right?"

"We can't get the box from in here, Numbuh 58," Thomas pointed out.

Celeste rolled her eyes. "I know _that_. What I mean is I think she somehow locked us in here so we would want to get out. She, or whoever made this, programmed it so we could get out. They want us to go to them. When we get out of here, we'll come out of the box. Anne-Marie will probably still have that box, so we'll end up where she is."

"Your point?" Thomas was growing impatient with the explanation.

"It's a trap."

The team, minus Celeste, thought about the circumstances. From experience in the Kids Next Door, they had learned not to underestimate their enemies. They considered what had happened and they all had to agree that Celeste's logic sounded correct. After all, she was the sector's spy.

A menacing cackle came from an unknown source. _"Correct, Celeste. So, how can the little spy get out now with us waiting by to trap you?"_

"Don't speak to Celeste like that!" Harry yelled. His head was facing the sky and turning aggressively, trying to find which direction the voice came from.

Anne-Marie ignored Harry and continued her maniacal laugh before saying, _"You'll have to answer a few simple riddles to get out of here! Okay, what can be eaten but not digested? Good luck!"_

"Why would we want to leave if you're just going to trap us?" Kellie questioned.

Anne-Marie only resumed chortling until the laughter faded away, leaving an awkward silence. Everyone was thinking about the riddle and what the answer could be. Everything they had eaten could be digested – no, none of them had kept down the apple pie Melissa's grandmother had made for them a few months ago. The only problem with that was Anne-Marie had never eaten the pie, so how could she have known? There was the obvious solution: broccoli, spinach and every other vegetable they could imagine, but that would be too obvious.

"Have you guys ever heard of the phrase, "Eat your words"?" Truman asked, his eyes on the ground in front of him. He looked up to see everyone staring at him and blushed. "I mean, I heard my English teacher say it in class the other day..."

"_Good work, traitor!"_ Everybody's heart lurched at the high-pitched voice. _"That was your one way ticket out of here!"_

A sucking sound that reminded them of a vacuum cleaner drowned out Anne-Marie's laughter. A giant gust of wind blew their hair and clothing and they had to close their eyes tightly to stop them from watering. Protecting their eyes, they never spotted the hole overhead that pulled Truman upwards. He screamed loudly and the others opened their eyes just in time to see his legs disappear into the hole. The circle closed and the powerful breeze stopped.

"_One down, five to go. What's the worst one, best two and golden three?"_

Silence filled the air once again as they all began to think. The first thing they thought of was Numbuhs 1, 2 and 3, but they decided against it. Everyone knew that even though Numbuh 2 was the best two, Numbuh 1 was definitely not the worst and Numbuh 3 certainly had nothing golden about her. Could it be the times of the day? No...

"Wait, remember when we were in second grade and when we were lining up for class we'd say that thing?" Thomas paused, but the others only stared at him blankly. "First the worst, second the best, third the one with the golden dress!"

Without warning, the wind and strange sound started again. They all closed their eyes again just as Thomas was being lifted out of the hole. Kellie, being next to him and feeling his arm brush against her, reopened her eyes and tried to grab onto his leg. It was no use; most of him had been hauled up and her fingers only touched the bottom of his shoe. The blowing ceased and she let out a frustrated screech.

"_Sorry, did I take your boyfriend away?_ Anne-Marie giggled hysterically. The scary face Kellie had inherited from Kuki made her laugh even harder. _"Stop getting angry, you're all going to meet in hell anyway. Next one! I waddle, slip and swim. What am I?"_

"A penguin. That was kind of obvious." Celeste folded her arms, smirking at the invisible girl.

"_Correct! Up you go!"_

Celeste's smile dropped as she rose into the air. The wind was more forced than before and anyone could conclude that Anne-Marie had a strong dislike for Celeste. The spy screamed as one of her plaits smacked her in the face and the other came undone. She attempted to reach for the hair elastic that flew into the air, but was swallowed by the hole before she could. Harry caught the elastic and carefully placed it in his pocket, telling himself he'd give it to her later.

"_Next! What can follow you, face you, and stand beside you?"_

By now, the remaining operatives were wondering whether they wanted to leave or not. They wanted to see if their teammates were safe, but they were also worried about the trap. It made them think of the riddle set before them. Their friends could follow, face and stand beside them. Thinking of the other riddles, however, they deducted that there must be another answer.

Kellie beamed and her eyes lit up. "A shadow! Depending on the way you and the sun are facing, your shadow can be behind, in front or beside you!"

They waited for Anne-Marie to speak, but she never did. Instead, the now familiar sensation of blustery weather came over them and Kellie was pushed into the air. She let out a shriek and held her short skirt down with one hand and her long, curly hair with the other. She didn't show any signs of wanting to get down, but Harry and Melissa weren't bothered by this. They waved as the happy-go-lucky operative disappeared into the hole.

"_Four down, two to go! A plane crashed right in the middle of the border of two countries. Which one would be responsible for burying the survivors?"_

This wasn't a riddle, this was something to do with adult law and the type of thing the Kids Next Door kept well away from. They wished their parents were there with them to tell them all the answers they needed. This thought made Melissa tear up again as she remembered the last flashback she watched. There was something very strange about this riddle, yet so obvious it was staring at them from right under their nose.

Melissa clicked her fingers. "They can't bury them because they survived!"

"_Good! I was wondering if you'd actually get that one!"_

Neither of the two left cared when the breeze picked up again and Melissa zoomed through the circle. Even when the hole closed up, Harry kept gazing at it, hoping to join them later. The crazy laugh was the only thing that distracted him from it.

"_Just you and me now Harry..."_ Anne-Marie stretched out his name like she did back in school, the only difference being that it now made him sick every time he heard it. _"What's here, now and forever? My love for you!"_

"What?" shouted Harry.

Anne-Marie still liked him after all this time? He didn't have time to think it over, though, because he was thrown upwards. The only sound he heard was the nonstop giggling that eventually became inaudible to his ears the higher he went.

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Sorry for the crappy riddles, it was all I could think of. Anyway, review and I'll see you next time!**_


	10. The Cave

_**Disclaimer: I do not own Codename: Kids Next Door and I never will.**_

_**Update! :D Enjoy!**_

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Chapter 10: The Cave_

Harry felt the hard ground beneath him and slowly opened his eyes. He was in what looked like a large cave. He was lying on dust, dirt and mud, but he didn't have the energy to sit or stand yet. The walls were a light brown colour and surrounded him on both sides of him. He finally found the strength to sit up and he caught more of where he was. In front and behind him was a path leading deeper into the cave. He tilted his head upwards and was surprised that he couldn't see the ceiling.

"Numbuh 361," called a hoarse voice. He turned to see Thomas standing next to him and holding out his hand.

Harry took it and pulled himself up. "Where are the others?"

Thomas pointed over Harry's shoulder. Harry spun around, almost losing his balance, and saw Truman and the girls dusting themselves off. Truman was the first to see him and pointed. He and the girls ran to Harry and Thomas. They asked whether he was okay and he replied that he was fine.

"What was your riddle, Numbuh 361?" Kellie asked eagerly.

"Uh..." Harry hesitated. He should have known this question was coming, just not so soon. He remembered Anne-Marie's last riddle, proclaiming she still had feelings for him. "Let's not talk about that right now, okay? We need to defeat Anne-Marie and Father and get out of here."

Kellie happily accepted the response, but the others weren't so convinced. He could feel Thomas burning holes into the back of his skull and he saw Melissa and Truman exchange glances that were filled with worry and puzzlement. The one he paid attention to more was Celeste, who was glaring at him in a way that told him it wouldn't be the last time they talked about the riddles.

"So, how do we find the enemy?" Melissa wondered. "I mean, they're not just going to pop up and say "Here I am! Come and get me!" At least not straight away."

"Wait, didn't Anne-Marie say that we'd be heading into a trap?" Celeste remembered.

Harry slapped a palm to his forehead. "Oh yeah, I totally forgot about that!"

"Some leader you are."

"Excuse me, Numbuh 58?"

"You heard me. I said you were the most useless leader in the Kids Next Door!"

"You're just angry because of the fight we had yesterday!"

"That has nothing to do with this! It doesn't make you any less of a dumb leader!"

"Well, for your info- What?"

Harry had stopped the argument to address Kellie, who was pulling on his sleeve. Her eyes were wide and staring down the path. Harry followed the direction of her eyes and he felt a pang in his stomach. He heard the others turn their feet and gasp.

In front of them were strange, blob like monsters. They looked like marshmallows with round bottoms and smaller tops. They were twice the size they were and had pointy teeth that could chew them to bits in an instant. Their colours varied from which direction they were coming from. On the left were lime green ones, the middle's were bright orange and the ones on the right were dark purple. As far as the team could tell, there were five in each group.

"Numbuh 43, you need to distract them and take them over there while two others hit them from behind. Any volunteers? Numbuh 80 and Numbuh 52, you have the job. Numbuh 58 and Numbuh 40 follow me deeper into the cave. I have a feeling Father and all his followers are down there somewhere. Kids Next Door, battle stations!"

Everyone immediately sprung into action. Kellie threw rocks at the monsters and poked her tongue out at them until they were all chasing her. Melissa and Thomas brought up the rear, hurling anything they could find. It was a wonder the monsters weren't coming after them the way they were chucking so hard. Harry, Celeste and Truman were running down the path as fast as they could.

Harry felt someone pull his arm and he turned around, not stopping. His eyebrows shot up in surprise when he saw Thomas in front of him. He was wearing a concerned expression he had only seen once before.

"Are you sure she should be letting all of those things chase her?" Thomas asked, eyeing the black haired girl currently dancing teasingly in front of a purple monster.

Harry smiled reassuringly. "She'll be fine, it's what she's trained to do."

Thomas nodded and returned to Melissa. Harry didn't wait to watch him leave and sprinted in front of Celeste and Truman so he could lead the way. Not that he knew where he was going, he was somewhere he hadn't been before. As a leader, he had to let his instincts take over. It was for his team.

"_Hiss!"_

"What was that?" Celeste whispered, still running. Harry and Truman shrugged their shoulders.

"_Hiss!"_

All three of them halted and cautiously looked everywhere they could. Every nook and cranny was clear and there were no signs of movement. They decided to rest so when they carried on they wouldn't pass out. Even though they seemed safe, they couldn't help but shift their eyes from one side to the other.

"_Hiss!"_

Celeste screamed and Harry gave her a harsh look. But when he saw the root that was stuck to the spy's leg, he too screamed. He jumped on the rock, along with Truman, and took out a pocket knife he always kept in case of emergencies. He sliced the root and hurriedly hauled Celeste onto the rock. They checked to see if any other roots were there, which there weren't, and made a break for it.

"What the hell is with this place?" Truman shouted. He was the slowest runner, so he was lagging behind by a couple of metres.

The other two didn't have the chance to answer because of the high-pitched shriek. They instantly thought it was Kellie or Melissa, but the noise came from in front of them. They almost skidded on the ground when they had to quickly slow down. They had reached the end of the path, but they had a decision to make.

"Left or right?" Harry questioned.

Two paths on were on either side of them, leading into darkness. One was covered with moss and smelt of dead animals while the other was exactly like the one they were on right now. Both of them were very uninviting, by they didn't have a choice. They had to choose one.

The squeal sounded again, louder this time. They all whipped their heads to the left tunnel and yelled, "Left!" in unison.

They dashed down the path, but were restricted to a walk when they realised they were running in a river of wet plants. The water and green plants were up to their waist and Celeste shut her eyes so she wouldn't have to look at it. She only opened them again when she almost tripped and fell face first into the water. From then on, they held each others' shoulders so they knew where they were.

"Gross," Truman murmured when a drop of water leaked from the ceiling and hit his nose.

"We'll be out of here soon enough." Harry sighed when Truman gave him a look of contempt out of the corner of his eye. Celeste was more obvious, giving him a full glare of hatred.

"It's not my fault!" he defended. "We all chose to go left, didn't we?"

"S'pose you're right..." Truman agreed. Celeste huffed and took more interest in the wall.

After what felt like an eternity later, the pool shrunk before disappearing completely. As much as they wanted to attack all of the plants attached to them, they had to keep going. They ran faster than they had previously on Harry's orders. They had been slowed down enough, they needed to pick up the pace.

At last, they saw light at the end of the tunnel. They raced to the end, ready for what was waiting for them.

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Hope you liked it! Just a question about the third part of the trilogy.**_

_**What point of view should I use?**_

_**1. Keep the point of view it is now.**_

_**2. Make one of the characters narrate the story.**_

_**3. Make all the characters narrate the story one chapter at a time.**_

_**Tell me what you think! Review!**_


	11. Mazes and Dreary Tunnels

_**Disclaimer: I do not own Codename: Kids Next Door and I never will.**_

_**Hey there! Sorry for not replying to some of your reviews. I looked at them on my phone but couldn't reply to them, then I went back home and forgot which ones I had and hadn't replied to. I hope this chapter makes up for it. :D**_

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Chapter 11: Mazes and Dreary Tunnels_

The orange sphere dropped to the ground and dissolved, steam rising from it. Kellie let out a breath of relief and wiped some sweat off of her forehead. She ran to join Thomas and Melissa, who were just as happy as she was to be rid of the monsters.

"Now what do we do?" she asked.

Thomas shrugged. "Dunno, Numbuh 361 never told us what to do after we'd finished taking out those blobby things."

"We should follow them," replied Melissa. "Common sense, guys."

The three of them jogged into the dark depths of the cave. They would have run faster, but they were still exhausted from their battle with the monsters. They had only been moving forward for a few minutes when they heard a scream, followed by the ground shaking. They fell to the ground hard, bruising themselves more than they already were. They managed to stand upright again and continue on their way.

"What was that?" Kellie asked.

Thomas rolled his eyes. "It was a scream and an earthquake, stupid. What else would it be?"

Kellie frowned. "No, I meant what was causing it."

"Shut up you two," Melissa commanded. "It's Father and Anne-Marie. Who else would it be?"

The other two couldn't argue with the logic, so they started running again. It was a matter of time before they found their new obstacle: a maze of roots. What appeared to have been a normal, open space had become the home of a maze. There was a simple entryway at the front they would have to go through to get to the other side. They all exchanged worried looks and walked inside.

"Don't stray off on your own," Melissa ordered. Her voice was firm, but full of fear.

They all went past the hedge of roots and into the maze. There were paths left and right and they felt like they were up at Moonbase Command. The only differences were that they weren't familiar with anything, there was no one to tell them where to go and they felt like they were trespassing on someone's overgrown tree. There was no light to help guide them, so they had to trust the resources they had.

Kellie clung to Melissa's shoulder tightly, her lip quivering. She had been able to deal with the cave when it was spacious, but now she was restricted between narrow walls. Melissa kept looking forward, not just to lead the others, but to make sure they didn't see the fear that had taken over her face. Thomas was walking beside Kellie with his hands in his pockets. He was looking at the ground, just to make sure there were no booby-traps ready to capture them.

"Ugh, dead end again!" Melissa cried for the twelfth time.

"Damn!" Thomas punched the root wall and hurt his knuckles in the process. "Ouch!"

Melissa sighed. "Come on, let's get outta here." She trudged slowly back the way she'd come, but stopped abruptly and gazed at the wall.

"What is it, Numbuh 52?" Kellie inquired, bounding up beside her.

"Numbuh 52 has an idea..." Melissa trailed off and grabbed one of the roots. Her right foot stepped on one of the bottom roots and she pulled herself up. She placed her left foot onto a higher root than the one her right foot was on and climbed more of the way up.

Kellie and Thomas were staring at her with confused expressions. Melissa explained, "When Numbuh 80 punched the wall, Numbuh 52 knew it meant the wall could hold my weight. I can see the whole maze from up here! I can get us out."

The two operatives on the ground looked at each other and grinned. They waited for Melissa to direct them. She told them to go left, then right, then left, right, right, left. It went on until they saw an opening in the hedge. They ran to the end and out of the maze. Melissa jumped off the wall and landed like a cat would have.

The ground trembled for the second time and dust was thrown everywhere. Behind them, the maze shook violently and sunk into the ground. The trio watched in astonishment as the maze disappeared and left no indication it had ever been there at all. The ground was as dirty as the rest of the cave and the roots were no more.

"What just-"

"I have no idea."

Willing to be as far away from that place as they could, they resumed hurrying through the cave. Even after having a break from running, they were still very tired and couldn't move very fast. Their legs felt like they were going to drop off and they had to take regular breaks. Sometimes they had to rub their eyes to make sure they could focus on where they were going.

Once they were doing this, they almost ran into a wall. They had arrived at the end of the path and they had a choice as to which route they would take. Would they take the left path, or the right?

After analysing each one, they decided on the right path. The left had a disgusting odour and looked very wet. Upon entering the dark tunnel, they didn't sense a change at all. To them, it was just a narrower version of the way they had just come. Going through the cave, however, they noticed it was becoming increasingly darker. They were regretting not bringing a flashlight or other tool to help them see.

Since the tunnel was so narrow, they couldn't stand side-by-side anymore. Melissa led the way, just like she did in the maze. Her second in command post was starting to show. Thomas was after her, whistling nervously as if the silence would kill him. Kellie was fighting the urge to not grab onto Thomas and held her cold arms. By the time it was so dark they couldn't see anymore, she was about to burst. She lunged forward and seized Thomas by the arms, making him yell.

"Oh, it's just you," Thomas breathed when he realised it was only Kellie. "What the hell do you think you're doing?"

Kellie pouted. "I'm scared, we can barely see anything."

Thomas had to hand it to her, she was right. He could hardly see her face in the darkness, the only thing telling him she was still there was the tight grip on his arms. He debated inside his head and shook it, erasing the thoughts from his mind. In a way that was very unlike him, he clutched Kellie's hand. It was warm and inviting.

"Come on guys, the faster we move, the sooner we can get outta here," prodded Melissa, who had noticed the sound of footsteps and the whistling stop. She had turned around to see what was happening and was now smiling at the two of them.

Thomas and Kellie blushed, but neither of them detected it in the other. Even when they were forced to walk in single file again, they never broke their hands. Five minutes later, the passageway began to lighten and the operatives found they could see the area properly again. Another few minutes of walking, and they found the reason for it. Tiny lamps were stationed on the walls with their flames burning brightly.

"Hey, I think I see more light over there! We finally found the exit!" Melissa was ecstatic. She was so happy to be out of that dreary tunnel.

The path widened and they hastened, Thomas and Kellie still gripping each others' hands. They were free at last!

No, they weren't. They had just run straight into a metal cage with no way out.

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There you go! Review! :D**_


	12. Trap?

_**Disclaimer: I do not own Codename: Kids Next Door and I never will.**_

_**UGH! So much has happened lately. First my computer crashes MULTIPLE TIMES! Then, I get all these assignments at once! Then it was my birthday last Friday, so I was happy. :) But seriously, that's why I wasn't updating. Sorry guys. Enjoy this chapter; it's longer than my other ones!**_

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Chapter 12: Trap?_

Harry, Celeste and Truman almost collapsed with exhaustion when they reached the light. Thinking of the enemies that may be waiting for them, they covered it up with a little cough. Standing ready to battle, they narrowed their eyes and adjusted them to the light, which was blinding compared to the darkness.

They had run into a circular room. It was glowing bright red, setting the dangerous tone. There were black pillars evenly spread at the back of the room, a large gold and red throne sitting in the middle. The walls of the cave had gold glitter decorations and completed the celebration look. It smelt different from the other tunnels, they realised. Instead of wet mud, dirt and dead plants, the smell of chicken filled the air.

It was awkward, just standing there and not fighting. They had been expecting Father or Anne-Marie to show up and start trying to defeat them. They still expected them to pop up, but that expectation was becoming less and less likely. Tension was becoming confusion as they realised no one was going to ambush them.

"Okay, I'm confused..." Truman broke the silence. "There aren't any pathways, right? So why aren't Father and Anne-Marie here?"

"They could have been behind us," suggested Celeste, eyeing the throne. "Someone must have planned something, though."

Harry stayed quiet, his mind reeling. What was the trap? Had they passed it? Where were their enemies now? He hoped it wasn't a wild goose chase.

Without warning, smoke entered the room. It was coming from the walls, something that troubled the operatives deeply. Most of it was targeted at the throne, where it swirled around before turning a dark gray. The smoke gradually cleared and revealed a silhouette. This silhouette was of a man, and was outlined with red. He had yellow, glowing eyes and was smoking a pipe.

"Hello, Kids Next Dumb."

Harry rolled his eyes. "Can't you come up with anything new?"

Father's eyes narrowed. "Be quiet!"

"Make us!" Truman yelled with bravery unfitting for his character.

"Sure, we'll do it the hard way..."

Everyone turned around to see the familiar face of Anne-Marie. Even in the dark and muddy cave, her clothes were spotless. She winked at Harry and blew him a kiss as she slowly walked towards Father. She loyally stood beside him and smirked. Her look was directed especially on Celeste, whose teeth were clenched.

They stood there for what felt like a whole century. They glared at each other, taking in their opponents every move as if they would attack them then and there. Another minute later, Anne-Marie let out a screech that echoed around the room. Her nostrils flared and her cheeks made her look like a tomato.

"Where is he? It's just like him to be late!" she complained to Father, who ignored her.

"I'm right 'ere, where else would I be?"

Harry, Truman and Celeste had become anxious at their enemy's stealth due to the silence of their footsteps. A boy, about fifteen, was standing there. His hair was a dirty blonde and he wore sunglasses that made him look devious. His denim jacket was covered with dirt and, to their surprise, blood. His brown trousers and black shoes were covered with the same elements. He had obviously been ruffed up before coming.

"Ugh, finally Nix." Anne-Marie ran over to him and pulled him to the throne. "You've had me worried." She turned to the clueless operatives. "This is Nixon Uno, from my timeline. He's come to help us."

Harry was furious. This boy wasn't and couldn't be related to him or his parents. Upsetting images flashed through his mind. Nixon was growing up in his place, meeting the others, becoming leader of Sector V and living his life. He raised his hand to slap himself when he saw a teenage Celeste and Nixon kissing. However, he didn't so he wouldn't arouse suspicion. He had to keep his nightmares inside.

"Come and get-"

A sharp object pierced him in the stomach, making him lean over and cough. He raised his head and was met with an evil smile from Father. He dropped his head again and examined the wound. Luckily, it wasn't too deep and he pulled the weapon out. It was an archer's arrow. Looking up again, he noticed the bow in Father's hands, but no other arrows. Father had planned to shoot him down from the very beginning.

Looking at Father's face made him angry. He felt his face heat up and his self-control left him as soon as he ran to the villain. He kicked and punched at Father, who hadn't been expecting him to regain energy. On the contrary, Harry felt more energised than ever. He had never concentrated on something so hard in his life. His attacks were more powerful than they usually were because of the frustration and the willingness to protect his friends.

To the left of him, Celeste was about to spar with Anne-Marie. They had their hands defending their front and were walking in circles. Their expressions were both the same: narrowed eyes with mischievous glints. Neither wanted to attack or be attacked, but they had to some time.

"He's mine, Stork."

Celeste's eyes never flickered. "How's that?"

"Think about it. When this is all over, I will be in power and every boy in the country – no, the world – will want me. That includes Harry," boasted Anne-Marie, dropping her stance and puffing her chest out proudly.

Celeste took the opportunity to strike. She kicked Anne-Marie in the stomach, making her move her hands around her belly. She slapped the girl in the face while she was down, weakening her. She was thoroughly enjoying this and wanted to savour every moment. Taking in the scene, she almost missed when the girl gained strength and attempted to punch her. She blocked the punch and flipped Anne-Marie so she was sprawled out on the floor.

Truman was dodging punched by Nixon and doing perfectly. Not going through proper training, he never learnt the essential karate like the other Kids Next Door. He had what Father taught him, which wasn't much. He had never been allowed to fight at the front. Upon coming to Sector V, he learned a few moves that would help him, but he never seemed to get them right. He had never been good at athletics anyway.

"Ha! Is that all you've got?" Nixon shouted as his fist missed Truman narrowly.

"No!" Truman cried defensively. He punched Nixon in the head and fished in his pocket for a knife he always carried. He slashed Nixon's jacket and shirt, grazing his skin in the process.

"Whoa! Calm down, man!" Nixon lifted his hands in surrender.

Just as the three operatives were about to finish their opponents off, Father started laughing. They stared at each other quizzically and looked at Father as if he was crazy.

"You idiots! You think we'd let you go this easily? I – Hey! What are you doing?"

Harry had produced metal handcuffs and attached them to Father's wrists. He nodded to Celeste and Truman, who did the same to their enemies. They moved them to the centre of the room so they were all back-to-back with each other.

"Why were you laughing?" Harry demanded to Father.

Father began wriggling. "I was just saying how..."

"How what?" Harry was growing impatient.

"You idiot!" Celeste whispered harshly in his ear. "Don't you see what he's doing?"

Harry didn't think he'd missed anything. It was only when he checked again he realised that Father was trying to grab something from his pocket. Or at least, he thought it was a pocket. It was hard to tell when all you saw was black. Harry was quicker, however, grabbing the item before Father could. He pulled out a remote with one red button.

"And what does this do?" Harry asked, sounding amused.

Father stared at his shoes. "It opens the pathway out of here..."

"Great! Let's get outta here, guys!"

"No, Numbuh 361!"

Not hearing his teammates' protests, he eagerly pressed the button. Instead of opening part of the cave like he was expecting, a loud rumbling was heard. A scream came from the other side of the wall, which was followed by shouting. An opening eventually did appear, but what he found inside alarmed him.

Melissa, Thomas and Kellie clumsily ran out of the dust storm surrounding them and fell to the floor, coughing. The other three rushed to their side to help them. After being assured their friends were okay, they gazed where the dust cloud had been. It had cleared to reveal broken, metal bars. The only conclusion they could come to was their friends had been restricted behind them.

"Did we miss the butt kicking?" Thomas questioned, scrambling to his feet. He was battered, bruised and still tired, but he was alright.

Truman nodded. "Yep, you did."

Thomas groaned and slapped his palm to his forehead, but didn't say anything else. Instead, he lent a hand to Kellie, who still needed to stand. Melissa was being assisted by Celeste. Once all six of them were together again, Harry quickly informed Melissa, Thomas and Kellie about their fight and Nixon. Thomas frowned in jealousy at all the action, Kellie's eyes opened wide and Melissa's eyebrows were raised.

"Well, if they're all good to go," Melissa pointed at the three villains, "then I suppose we should go change the past."

"How are we going to do that?" Kellie wondered. "It's not like we have the time machine here."

Melissa didn't say anything and casually strolled to Anne-Marie. She bent down and, much to the blonde's annoyance, dug through her pocket. It was if Melissa was mimicking what Harry had done, only with Anne-Marie. She picked out a silver box, the box that had trapped them before.

"Anne-Marie never showed us the side of this," started Melissa. "I'll show you." She rotated the small box in her hand. On the side pointing at them now was an inscription.

_AMSB TIME TRAVELER 2029 MINI_

"AMSB?" asked Truman.

Melissa nodded. "Anne-Marie Santles Beatles. She made this. I saw the writing before, just when we were about to go into that cloud place. I didn't know what it was then, but I know now. It's exactly like my time machine, by the looks of things, so I know how to work it. You guys ready to change the past?"

"Wait, what part are we going to change?" Celeste asked.

"Our parents decommissioning, I guess. We have to... Decommission them," Harry answered before Melissa could.

"What? Why?" Thomas had never decommissioned anyone before, and his mother said it was a tough job when he met her ten year old self.

Harry's eyes softened. "If we just stopped ourselves from going, we'd lose a member of the team."

His eyes rested upon Truman and the others followed his gaze. Of course, it was clear to them all now. If they stopped the battle with Father from happening, Truman would be "Son" forever. Or, at least until they could find a way to get him back in the present, but they didn't want to risk that.

Harry stepped forward and gathered his team.

"Let's go."

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Sorry if that sounded a bit rushed. Review! It's my food. :D**_


	13. Distract and Target

_**Disclaimer: I do not own Codename: Kids Next Door and I never will.**_

_**Hullo there! I was actually planning on writing more for this chapter, but I decided it was best not to. In other news, I have a poll on my profile! I wanna know who your favourite character is in this story. No reason for it, just interested. I got one vote so far, so Celeste is leading at the moment. Okay, enjoy!**_

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Chapter 13: Distract and Target_

Melissa pressed the buttons on the machine and stepped back in line with the others. They closed their eyes and a tingling sensation filled their bodies. They opened their eyes to look at each other and, by their expressions, knew they were all experiencing the same thing. Anne-Marie's machine essentially had the same buttons as Melissa's, but there were a few things different. The strange feeling was one of them.

They blinked and they were in the cloudy area again. However, instead of just floating, they were flying and top speed through the sky. Or, at least, what they thought was the sky. Their eyes watered from the wind pushing itself on their faces.

"This sucks!" Thomas yelled over the harsh wind.

"Oh, shut up, crud-face!" Harry shouted, attempting to turn his head, but the wind wouldn't let him.

The wind increased in speed so much that it came to the point where they couldn't talk anymore. Not that any of them wanted to; they were too busy trying to keep their faces from being blown off. Kellie and Celeste were holding their skirts down, praying they weren't pushed in front of the boys.

Eventually, the gale softened so they were just hovering. The wind was no longer strong enough to help them along, so they had to find a way themselves. They paddled with their hands until they saw a circular opening. Feeling a surge of enthusiasm, they forced themselves to go the remaining distance.

A few metres away from their exit, they heard a sound familiar to a vacuum cleaner. Without any further warning, they were sucked into the opening, which had now become an archway. They screamed and flailed their arms as they attempted to beat the current, but they couldn't. They could just hope the other side was safe.

The pulling came to an abrupt halt and they were on the ground, which was metal. Resting for a bit, they managed to see where they were. It was a dimly lit room, and all the light in the room was pointing to one thing: four seats with plungers above them. They had never been to this place in person, but had seen enough pictures to know it.

"We're in the Decommissioning Chamber," Harry whispered.

Even though he was quiet, his voice echoed around the room as if he was shouting. The air was suddenly chilly and they all shivered. Thankfully, the whole place was deserted, so no one saw them land.

"Come on, to the chamber!"

The six operatives almost jumped three metres in the air when they heard the voice from outside the door. They didn't recognise it at first, but when they stopped being surprised, they realised who it was.

"Hide!" Harry ordered, diving behind a pile of weapons.

Melissa and Thomas hid underneath a large basket, all the while wondering what it was doing there. Celeste and Kellie concealed themselves with a curtain near the other entrance and pointed at an old machine for Truman to hide behind. He accepted the suggestion at once. They all held their breath and watched the doorway.

Fanny walked in with her normal, firm look. At least, from a glance, it looked normal. If someone studied her eyes very closely, they could tell there was sadness amongst the authority. She turned to the doorway where two boys were leading someone in. Considering the circumstances, the future Sector V presumed it was an operative who had just become thirteen.

"You stupid boys! Can't you move any faster?" she screamed.

The boys shared a look of pure terror and immediately picked up the pace. Following them was a dark skinned girl with a red cap. Her face was downwards and her arms were neatly folded against her chest.

"Mum?"

Thomas nudged Melissa in the ribs to stop her from making any more noise, but she ignored it. Her eyes were filled with tears and she had to hide her face so no one would see. She couldn't believe she was going to watch her mother getting decommissioned. No, she couldn't believe that _she_ would be the one to do it.

As Abby was instructed to sit on the nearest chair, a younger operative burst into the room. She rested against the doorframe to regain her composure. Abby stared at her curiously, but the Decommissioning Squad exchanged knowing looks.

"Numbuh 86," greeted the girl, "I have some information."

Fanny nodded and strolled over to the girl, not showing any signs of being irritated at all. On the contrary, she seemed to be keeping down a smile. She bent over and let the operative whisper into her ear. Abby and the Decommissioning Squad were all watching, their eyes averted from the hiding places.

Harry closed his left eye and pretended to throw a tiny pistol from the weapon pile. If he tried really hard, he couldn't miss...

'_Clunk!'_

In the blink of an eye, the plunger directly above Abby dropped right onto the surprised operative's face. The computer, which Sector V hadn't seen, produced static on its screen. The plunger began moving to and fro, removing all evidence of the Kids Next Door from Abby. She started struggling a lot at first, but as more of her memory was erased, her wriggling subsided before stopping altogether.

"Numbuh 5!" Fanny screeched, horrified. She'd seen over a hundred operatives in the same position, but none of them had been accepted into the Teens Next Door.

The sound of rushing wind distracted Sector V from the sad spectacle. The "vacuum" was back and better than ever. Even though the wind was everywhere, it didn't seem to affect the Decommissioning Squad as they led Abby out of the chamber. Either they were pre-occupied to notice it or it was only a treat for the time-travellers, who were left the same way they came in.

Even without the help of the loud wind, they couldn't speak. Melissa was too busy sobbing for her mother, and no one knew what to say. Kellie was crying too, being the emotional girl she was. The others were standing their ground and refusing to cry, but it was hard. None of them wanted to go through seeing their parents lose their memories. It only reminded them of the day when one of them would turn thirteen.

"So... Who's next?" Thomas wondered aloud.

None of them wanted to think about the next decommissioning. It could easily be one of their parents and they didn't want that. On the other hand, they still wanted to speed up the process. They wanted everything to be over and done with, something to put behind them.

"I don't know," Celeste answered, tears threatening to roll down her cheeks as she thought about her parents with plungers on their face.

They held their breath when they spotted the archway ahead of them.

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Hope you all enjoyed that! Remember to vote on the poll, pretty please? Review! Bye!**_


	14. Gone To Limbo

_**Disclaimer: I do not own Codename: Kids Next Door and I never will. :'(**_

_**Awesome, an update! I was doing NaNoWriMo last month so I didn't have much time to work on this.**_

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_Chapter 14: Gone To Limbo_

The cave was as dark and cold as ever. It was like it knew what had just happened and was representing the mood. The mud sloshed to different rhythms as six children stomped through it. These children were tired and upset from their recent experiences. Even the two loudest didn't dare talk. They didn't know whether to be triumphant, depressed, or ashamed.

Finally, the silence was broken. "I never want to do that again."

"We'll all get through it, Numbuh 361," reassured Melissa.

Harry nodded. He was sure they would, his teammates were all strong. It was all over now, anyway. Everything was back to normal. All they needed to do was find Father, Anne-Marie and Nixon and send them to the Arctic Prison Base.

Unfortunately, the time machine had dropped them off at the cave entrance and they had to go all the way back through the tunnels. It was annoying, but at least it gave them time to think. There were no more monsters to disturb them either, so they were hassle free, unless you called their feelings and thoughts a hassle.

After arriving in the place the large blobs had fought them, Harry thought of something. "Hey, Numbuh 52? How did you know AMSB meant Anne-Marie?"

"Oh, that was easy," Melissa replied. "The little idiot wrote her initials and then her actual name under it on the wall of the cage thing we were in."

"Cage thing?" Celeste asked, overhearing the conversation.

"Yeah. Anne-Marie decided she would trap me, Numbuh 43 and Numbuh 80 in a cage. It turned into a wall after it, though," Melissa explained. "She thought we weren't going to escape, so she wrote out everything on the wall. She said it was to keep us "occupied", whatever that meant."

"Oh." Harry didn't have anything else to say. His mind was too busy replaying every decommissioning, especially slowing down on his parents'.

"The maze isn't here anymore. Thank goodness." Kellie sighed in relief.

"Maze?" Truman asked.

Melissa nodded and told Truman, Celeste and Harry about the maze. Kellie and Thomas added information here and there, but it wasn't very helpful. By the end, the first three had wide eyes, but other than that showed no other sign of surprise. They stared at the clearing and saw that nothing looked any different from when they'd been there.

"It was really scary!" Kellie cried for the tenth time.

"Oh my gosh, we know!" Thomas rolled his eyes.

"Of course you know, you were the one holding her hand and telling her it was all right, remember?" Melissa pointed out.

Thomas and Kellie both blushed and avoided eye contact. The other four sniggered as they kept walking. Ten minutes later they arrived at the intersection. They could either go through the squishy swamp tunnel or the tunnel that led to the cage.

"Well, we should go the way me, Numbuh 43 and Numbuh 80 went. The wall should still be broken," Melissa concluded.

Even though the tunnel was dark and narrow, it was still the most efficient path. Kellie, who had been through here before, grabbed Thomas's hand. It was an instinct now. Celeste was the only one who noticed since she was the person behind them. She didn't say anything and decided to let them enjoy each other's company.

Many minutes of walking later, the light of the torches illuminated the passageway. Not long after, they arrived at the circular room. Everything was still in place from when they left. No rocks or debris had been moved and the throne and decorations were still there.

"Wait, where's Father and the others?" Truman inquired.

Three pairs of handcuffs lay on the floor. Their captives were nowhere to be found. The operatives could even imagine the cricket sounds as they stared.

Thomas cracked his knuckles. "If they've escaped..."

Celeste shook her head. "I don't think they escaped. Well, not on purpose. They don't exist anymore."

She looked around and was met with a lot of confused stares. Kellie was absolutely clueless. Next to her, Melissa was lost in thought, trying to make sense of what had just happened. Thomas's nose was scrunched up like it always was when he was puzzled. Truman kept blinking, which was very annoying. Harry kept opening his mouth to say something only to close it again.

"Oh geez," Celeste groaned. "I mean that because we stopped the decommissioning, we stopped the other timeline. That timeline doesn't exist anymore. That means that Father, Anne-Marie and that other guy... Nelson?"

"Nixon," Harry corrected.

"Yeah, whatever. They all disappeared because they technically aren't alive anymore," Celeste finished.

A chorus of "Oh" surrounded her. She smiled and shook her head. Everything was back to normal. Or, at least she'd thought so. She still felt frustrated whenever she looked at Harry and she could tell her felt the same way. After all, they had never had the chance to talk about everything.

"So, they're gone for good, right?" Kellie asked.

Celeste nodded slowly. "Ah, yes. At least, I think so. I can't tell for sure. It's not every day you change the past."

"True," agreed Melissa. "But we need to get out of here."

Thomas held out a hand to stop Melissa from talking. "I'm just gonna do something first."

He asked for a weapon from Harry, who gave him his dagger reluctantly. He smirked and cracked his knuckles again. He held on tightly and slowly advanced towards the throne and decorations. The others watched in anticipation, waiting to see what he would do.

'_Smash_!'

'_Crack_!'

'_Snap_!'

In the blink of an eye, the regal chair was in four pieces and the banners and streamers ripped and torn. Thomas cheered and the others' eyes were widened. They didn't want to admit it, but they were pretty scared of him right now.

Thomas grinned at them as he handed Harry the dagger. "Just making up for the action I lost before."

Instantly, the tension broke and they all burst out laughing. Things were definitely healing and they just needed to move on.

"Hey, anyone there?" a voice called from the wet, swampy tunnel. Out of it came the Soopreme Leader, his clothes soaked and muddy.

"Hey, Numbuh 679," greeted Harry uneasily. "I see you took the wet route..."

"Yeah..." Numbuh 679 glared at Thomas, Kellie and Truman, who were trying very hard not to laugh. Even Melissa had an awkward smile on her face.

"How did you find us?" Harry asked, also shooting a look at his teammates.

"We received a weird note from some girl. She called herself Anne-Marie. She was very..." Numbuh 679 trailed off.

"Mad? Psycho? Insane?" Celeste suggested. Just because this was all over didn't mean she hated the girl any less.

"...Arrogant," Numbuh 679 finished. "Anyways, there's a C.O.O.L.B.U.S. waiting outside for you. I'll take you to Moonbase where we can talk about all this. This was a very serious crime. They weren't just trying to capture you; they wanted to _kill_ you. I know they're gone, but you'd be safer up at Moonbase. Plus, the hospital is there. We don't want our best sector untreated for wounds, right?"

Harry smiled. "Right, let's go."

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The danger's over! Teehee! The whole story's almost over as well. Just two more chapters! So... Review? Pretty please?**_


	15. Butterflies to Cockroaches

_**Disclaimer: I do not own Codename: Kids Next Door and I never will.**_

_**Another update! I'm so grateful that my grandma has no internet access. That means no distractions!**_

_**Oh, and please vote on the poll. Melissa, Celeste, Kellie and Thomas are all on a four way tie for first place, Harry in second and Truman last.**_

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Chapter 15: Butterflies to Cockroaches_

The Moonbase was stirred up more than Sector V imagined.

"What happened?" asked a young operative.

"Nothing," Harry replied sternly. "Besides, you'll probably pick up little bits from rumours."

And that wasn't the worst of it. Scientists followed them to the medical wards and demanded to know how to make the time machine. When they didn't answer, they trailed them before Melissa smacked them. The museum's caretaker asked if he could show off the time machine in the museum, but was quickly discouraged. Some cadets asked for their autographs, which they scribbled before running for the Soopreme Leader's office.

"Can't you keep your cruddy mouth shut?" Thomas yelled once they were safely inside.

Numbuh 679 tugged at his ear, something he did when he was nervous. "Sorry. I needed a lot of operatives for search parties and reinforcements if you needed it."

Thomas was a little calmer, but his eyebrows were still scrunched together. Harry tugged his arm and pulled him back.

"Numbuh 679, sir," Harry began. "What do you want to know?"

"Start from the beginning," Numbuh 679 replied. "I want to know everything from everyone."

In turn, each person shared their experience. Harry left out Anne-Marie's "riddle", while Thomas and Kellie left out what had happened in the maze and the tunnel. The Soopreme Leader nodded his head from time to time, but didn't interrupt.

When Celeste finished her side of the story, the leader stood up. He walked around his desk and stopped in front of it. He breathed in and looked as if he was wondering what to say.

"Well, we should proceed with caution for the time being," he decided. "We don't know whether they're dead or in some kind of limbo."

"What's limbo?" Truman questioned.

"I'm not exactly sure what it looks like, but I'd say you just float around doing nothing unless you somehow get out," Numbuh 679 explained.

"Well, let's hope it stays that way," said Melissa. Everyone nodded in agreement.

"Is there anything else?" asked Harry.

Numbuh 679 shook his head. "No. But I would like you guys to stay here tonight. You've had a long day. A story has already been prepared for your parents."

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The area they were staying in was beautiful. The wall with the doorway was straight while the roof and other wall were curved. The curved part was clear so they had an excellent view of the stars. On one side were three bunk beds while the other had a television and some of their possessions from the tree-house.

Kellie dove straight for her Smashing and Crashing Rainbow Monkey. Thomas and Truman started playing a car video game and Melissa grabbed a magazine with her iPod on full blast.

Celeste and Harry remained at the door, staring at the stars. Harry tugged on Celeste's shirt and brought them closer to the window. It made the sight even more beautiful.

After a few minutes of silence between them, Harry spoke up. "You were great when you were fighting Anne-Marie, you know."

"I know. You weren't so bad," she complimented. "Well, for a lovesick teenager anyway."

"I wasn't that bad."

"Yes, you were. And she was an arrogant brat."

"Well, I didn't think so at the time."

"But she's a bit-"

"Numbuh 58!"

"Oh, shush."

Another silence. Harry sighed inwardly. He knew he'd have to be the one to break it. Celeste was just that stubborn.

"So, what about Mitchell?"

Celeste's eyes widened. "Oh, I totally forgot about him."

On the outside, Harry remained calm, but on the inside he was jumping for joy. "What are you going to do about him then?"

"I still wanna see how it goes," she answered. "I mean, he's so funny and sweet. Plus, he likes me and I like him."

Harry's excited butterflies suddenly felt like squirming cockroaches. It wasn't just the fact that she's decided to stay with Mitchell, but the way she said it. It wasn't awkward, which was probably a good thing, but it meant she was comfortable with talking to him about this. That meant she only saw them as friends.

The confidence in her words also made him uneasy. How had she made up her mind that quickly? She hadn't even known the guy that long.

'_Not like you_,' he thought, but he tried not to think that way.

"Then I'm happy for you," he lied.

"Cool. I'm sorry for shouting at you," Celeste apologised.

"Likewise." Harry smiled, happy to be off the previous subject.

"Hey, what are you gonna do for your drama play?" asked Celeste. "Anne-Marie can't be in it anymore, obviously."

Harry shrugged. "Hopefully I won't have to do it. I can't believe I almost had to do the kissing scene with that creep. Wait, the school doesn't even know she's gone!"

This time it was Celeste's turn to shrug. "Whatever. Let the teachers believe she's still enrolled. I don't know about you, but I can't be stuffed doing anything."

"Yeah, or we could tell them she went missing. Just make the adults more confused," Harry laughed. "We don't want to give them an easy time."

"Hey, what are you guys talking about?"

The two turned and beamed when the others ran over to them. They were as happy as they were.

"Oh, you know, just KND stuff," said Celeste, winking at Harry.

Melissa suddenly looked uneasy. "Speaking of that... Isn't it almost your birthday, Numbuh 361?"

Harry's stomach felt strange again. He would be thirteen very soon. Two months, to be exact. He would turn thirteen then, which meant he wouldn't be in the Kids Next Door anymore. No more missions or adventures. All his memories would be gone, just like when he had to decommission everyone's parents. He wouldn't remember why his friends were his friends and the bonds they shared. Worst of all, he'd be the very thing they fought.

A teenager.

Kellie sniffled. "I don't want to talk about this."

"So, who's gonna lead us?" Thomas asked, pulling out a crumpled tissue from his pocket.

"Numbuh 52," Harry replied.

"I don't want to talk about this," Kellie repeated.

"So you're technically gonna be our enemy?" asked Truman.

Harry hesitated. "...Yeah, probably."

"I _really_ don't want to talk about this..."

"Will we get a new member?" Celeste inquired.

"No idea," answered Harry. "That's up to Numbuh 679."

"_Will you guys shut up_?"

Everyone focused on Kellie, who could no longer control her tears. She wiped her eyes on her sleeve and continued. "Why do we need to talk about this now? It's two months away! Why can't we just have lots of fun like we did when we were just new to the KND? Why should it change just because someone's gonna get decommissioned? We all are in the end so we might as well enjoy the time we have left together!"

No one spoke because they were too stunned. Kellie hadn't said much since their parents' decommissioning and she normally wasn't this sensitive. However, they knew how she felt.

"She's right," Thomas stated finally.

Celeste smirked. "Oh yeah, of course you'd agree with her.

"Oh shut up!"

Kellie stopped dabbing her eyes and said, "Huh?"

Melissa laughed. "So oblivious."

The mood was uplifting and it was like the good old days for them, even if it was only temporarily.

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This is the last full chapter! Next is the epilogue. Then it's on to the third and last story in the trilogy. Review!**_


	16. Epilogue

_**Disclaimer: I do not own Codename: Kids Next Door and I never will.**_

_**Epilogue! Then it's on to the last story. Enjoy!**_

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Epilogue_

The next two months were spent normally. They had to focus on their schoolwork and missions, but they still made time for each other. Celeste had broken up with Mitchell after a month, making Harry's day. No one mentioned Harry's birthday for most of the two months, even though they were always thinking about it.

Two days before his birthday they were gathered around the large television. Their conversation had been about a new toy and Kellie had said she wanted one for her birthday. That's where the room became awkward. Everyone kept sneaking glances at Harry, wondering how he was taking everything.

Finally, he said, "Don't worry about me. I'm going to be fine."

Celeste analysed him steadily. "You want us to believe that, but you're not sure yourself."

"How did you know?" Harry asked, smiling slightly.

"Because we've all been thinking the same thing," Melissa replied. "We don't know if we're going to be fine when we get decommissioned. I haven't talked to them about it, but I know they're thinking it."

Harry was about to reply, but then he saw Kellie's sad face and Thomas's protective look. It was best that they didn't say anymore.

* * *

Two days later, the tree-house was a mixed up place. They were celebrating Harry's birthday, but weren't very enthusiastic about it. The Decommissioning Squad could burst in any second. All of them kept glancing at the entrances and out the windows to check.

"They're coming!" Truman warned at exactly ten-thirty.

Harry was ambushed by his teammates. They all hugged him at the same time so hard he couldn't breathe. He had to make coughing noises to get them off. He wasn't spared any time because he was tackled by Thomas.

"I'm gonna miss you, man," he said.

"Thomas, are you crying?" Harry questioned in disbelief. Sure enough, the boy's eyes were brimmed with tears.

Thomas wiped his eyes hastily. "No, absolutely not. Only girls do that."

"Sure, sure," Harry teased, but then his expression softened. "I'm gonna miss you too."

Kellie pushed Thomas away and helped Harry up. She was whimpering uncontrollably until she burst into tears. She squished Harry, but this time he didn't care he could barely breathe.

"You were the best leader ever! Why do you have to be our enemy?" she sobbed.

Harry smiled, but tears were already in his eyes. "I don't have to be. I'll stay out of trouble."

Kellie grinned and squeezed him one more time before standing next to Thomas. Truman came up next, but didn't hug Harry. Instead, he shook his hand. He sniffled at the tears threatening to fall.

"You and the others saved me. I don't know what I'm going to do without you and the others," he admitted.

Truman was the youngest, meaning he'd be the last one left. Harry put a hand on his shoulder. "You don't need to rely on us anymore. You're your own person. I know it sounds cheesy, but it's true."

Truman nodded and walked away. Melissa gave him a one-armed hug and smiled.

"I know you're not going to be our enemy," she reassured. She frowned. "But are you sure you're going to be fine?"

"I'm going to be having a worse time than you after I actually have my memories taken away. Less memories means less pain," he answered. "And you're going to be a great leader."

Melissa blushed. "Not as great as you."

She smiled and gestured for Celeste to come forward. They could hear the cries of the Decommissioning Squad. Kellie, Thomas, Truman and Melissa ran to the window to negotiate a bit more time, leaving Harry and Celeste alone.

Celeste didn't even try to stop her tears. They fell down her face as she embraced Harry tightly. She didn't stay there long, knowing she didn't have much time. She kept her hands on his shoulders and he saw her face was full of sadness and confusion.

"Sorry, I'm not sure what to say," she confessed. "All the others had heaps to say."

"Don't worry about it," he reassured.

"Well, I'll just take this chance."

He raised an eyebrow, but didn't say anything. He was eager to hear what she would say.

"Since you're not going to remember anything," she began, "I can say this."

She kissed him on the cheek and whispered in his ear, "I like-like you."

He staggered back in surprise. He was tempted to say the same, but he was just too shocked. Celeste's heartbroken glance didn't help anything. She joined the others at the window.

Thomas was having a fierce argument with the head of the Decommissioning Squad, Numbuh 18.22. He'd always had power of them, seeing who his mother was, but today that wasn't working. Kellie was sobbing and Melissa was trying to comfort her. Truman started aiding Thomas in the fight, but it was only adding fire to the battle. Celeste stayed quiet, deep in thought.

"Guys," said Harry, "I'm ready to go."

Everyone fell silent and all you could hear was Numbuh 18.22 ranting. They all hugged him again and he had to untangle himself to get out. He closed his eyes in the elevator, not wanting to see their faces.

Numbuh 18.22 was tapping her foot when he stepped out of the elevator. "About time! Stupid teenager!"

The Decommissioning Squad dragged him to the back and pushed him inside. The flight was quiet, surprisingly. He'd heard so many stories of the squad calling teenagers bad names and hitting them. He asked them about it, but was told to be quiet.

When they arrived at Moonbase, he was taken in through the entrance closest to the decommissioning chamber. The operatives there all stared at him, making him blush. That was the problem with being one of the best operatives in the Kids Next Door. When you turned thirteen, everyone found out.

He was led into the decommissioning chambers and he realised how sick he felt when he sat in the chair. He was going to forget forever. He didn't want that, but he had no choice. His fate was sealed and he was sure of it.

And that is why he was amazed when the young operative ran into the room and whispered in Numbuh 18.22's ear. Her eyes flickered between the leader and Harry. She left the room as fast as she had come in.

Numbuh 18.22 sent to her squad out of the room and power-walked to Harry. She took his hand and helped him off the seat.

"Congratulations, Numbuh 361. You have been accepted into the Teens Next Door."

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_**OH COME ON, YOU SAW THAT COMING!**_

_**That was a longer epilogue than I thought. I thought it would be half of that. I left a few cliff-hangers in this with the TND and Celeste. Review! And feel free to ask any questions if you don't understand something. I can be a bit weird with my writing.**_


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